The Pentaverate

The Austin Powers star plays almost every character in this sweet, silly, charmingly harmless comedy about a secret society – when he's not joined by the ...

We are informed of this at the beginning of every episode via a voiceover by Jeremy Irons, enjoying himself hugely in maximum Jeremy Irons mode.) It has worked behind the scenes for the good of humanity ever since. One for all the fans of country singer Crystal Gayle, there. This includes most of the Pentaverate, a secret society that is, unlike most secret societies, benevolent. Those who feel the same will fall like ravening beasts on The Pentaverate (Netflix). This is a six-episode piece of accomplished idiocy by Mike Myers, who has been specialising in such since the early 90s via Saturday Night Live, Wayne’s World, Austin Powers, the Shrek franchise and assorted other ventures. Billie Eilish is a future member – she will join in 2047.

Netflix's 'The Pentaverate' stars Mike Myers as about a dozen characters in a limited series that is basically just one bloated movie.

Making sense of “The Pentaverate” simply isn’t the point of “The Pentaverate,” which exists to let Mike Myers do whatever he wants almost 15 years after he last starred in a project of his own. The very charming Lydia West (“It’s a Sin”) gets the closest to playing a real character, but still deserves better than the one she got. With “The Pentaverate,” which dropped its six episodes on May 5, Myers gets to play as many characters as he likes in a story about a centuries-old cabal resisting discovery.

The Austin Powers star, who plays eight characters in the series about a Illuminati-style secret society, beamed for the cameras at the swanky event.

Mike looked to be in his element as he giggled and hugged his fellow co-stars on the red carpet months after filming. Four of the eight! What a cast!

The Pentaverate is crude, obnoxious, unfunny – and looks very expensive. No wonder the streamer's subscribers are voting with their feet.

Just when you think it can’t get any worse, the US comic actor Ken Jeong turns up with a performance of such crass charmlessness that it will make you long for the government to ban all transatlantic travel. Of course, the puerility is entirely knowing and deliberate, slathered on too thick as some sort of ironic nod to the very concept of humour. The streaming service recently parted with $300m for the services of the revered TV auteur Ryan Murphy, whose output has either been dross (Ratched, Hollywood) or forgettable (Halston, The Politician). Blackish creator Kenya Barris was given $100m, but left after one production, citing the fact that Netflix wanted him to be too mainstream. The humour is so crass it would test the patience of my two-year-old, who is currently going through a phase of picking his nose, eating it, then shouting “I’m funny!”. He is certainly funnier than The Pentaverate. However, after a smattering of neat jokes about Canada – Ken’s network has a game show called Close Enough: “where to win, you only have to be close enough” – the whole thing descends into one long, diamond-encrusted fart gag. Their members over the centuries have included everyone from Darwin and Da Vinci to KFC’s Colonel Sanders and “the Quaker Oats guy”. That’s one of the better jokes.

The Pentaverate is the newest creation from Mike Myers but the title of the Netflix comedy series has confused fans with many wondering about its meaning.

While the Pentaverate may share a number of similarities with the infamous Illuminati, the secret society is purely a work of fiction – as far as we’re aware. Meaning of The Pentaverate title explained That series is The Pentaverate, a comedic mystery series that delves into the world of conspiracy theories and secret societies.