Netflix has many titles, but not all of them are originals. In fact, one Disney+ show recently added to the catalog has found considerable success on its second streaming service. Percy Jackson and the Olympians premiered on Disney+ in 2023, adapting Rick Riordan‘s beloved novels. With its unique retelling of Greek mythology, surprising twists, and constant humor, the series stands out in the fantasy genre and promises to continue doing so. Anyone who’s read the books knows the story is far from over, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians will continue the tale soon with Season 3’s upcoming premiere.
Yet, the family-friendly fantasy is about to have more competition with HBO’s Harry Potter. Both based on long-standing middle-grade novels, the two shows are easy to compare. However, Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ Netflix release strengthens its position. After three years, the series first two seasons have become a hit on a second streamer, which few series can claim. This new attention not only proves how good Percy Jackson and the Olympians is, but it comes just in time to get fans excited for the next season.
‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ Begins a Thrilling Story in Seasons 1 and 2
Even with only two seasons out, Percy Jackson and the Olympians contains a lot of adventure. The series follows Percy (Walker Scobell), a modern 12-year-old who discovers that his absent father is really the Greek god Poseidon (Toby Stephens). His demigod status makes him a target for mystical monsters, but worse, his connection to Poseidon makes him the focus of malicious gods and a terrifying prophecy. In Season 1, Percy must undertake a dangerous quest to locate Zeus’ (Lance Reddick in Season 1 and, later, Courtney B. Vance) lightning bolt that his father is accused of stealing. Accompanying him is his unlikely friend, Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries), the daughter of Athena, and his satyr protector, Grover (Aryan Simhadri). Their dynamic, which isn’t always harmonious despite Grover’s efforts, is a large part of what makes the series so enjoyable. Percy’s reckless bravery and Annabeth’s unwavering intelligence make an incredible team, even as they bicker. This becomes even more prominent as Season 2 takes the characters on a journey inspired by The Odyssey.
Four worlds and four completely different ideas of what a good life
looks like. This is where you belong, what it would ask of you, and what you would get back in
return.
You belong somewhere old enough that the mountains have names and
somebody can still tell you who gave them. Middle-earth is for people who think the right
thing is worth doing even when it will not be finished in their lifetime.
- This is the only world on the list where doing good is understood as a very long defeat,
fought anyway, by people who will never see how it ends. - You are drawn to grandeur, to white cities and deep forges and the sense that almost
everything you touch is older than your entire family line. - The Rings of Power is set in the last good age before it all goes wrong, which gives
every quiet scene in it a slightly unbearable weight. - You would take the hard road, and you would take it on foot.
You want the sea, a crew, and absolutely nobody telling you where
you are allowed to go. The Grand Line is the world for people whose main ambition in life is
finding out what is over there.
- One Piece has run for decades on one very simple engine, which is a group of people who
each want something impossible and have decided to go and get it together. - You collect people. Your ideal crew is a set of misfits who were each written off
somewhere else before you turned up and offered them a better idea. - The world is enormous and deliberately ridiculous, and the emotional gut punches land
harder because of that rather than in spite of it. - You would set sail knowing the map runs out, which is more or less the entire point of
it.
You would rather be feared and useful than liked and useless. The
Continent is a world where the monsters are the straightforward part of the job and the
people are where it all gets complicated.
- Witchers get paid to do what nobody else will and resented for existing at all, which is
a trade most people would refuse and you would probably accept. - You have no real illusions about which side is the good one, largely because on the
Continent that question tends to have a disappointing answer. - The best of these stories are not about the fighting. They are about somebody with a
rigid code being repeatedly cornered into caring about people. - You would take the coin, finish the job properly, and be out of town before the story
got told wrong.
You want the myths to be real and loose in the actual world, and
you want to find out at about thirteen that you were never anywhere near as ordinary as
everybody kept telling you.
- Percy Jackson takes the oldest stories we have and drops them into car parks and diners,
which makes the gods considerably funnier and a great deal worse. - You would be the kid every school gave up on, who turns out to have been built for
something nobody thought to test for. - The series is genuinely about friendship rather than destiny, and it says so out loud
every time a prophecy tries to get in the way. - Camp Half-Blood is the real fantasy here: a place where the thing that made you
difficult everywhere else is the thing that makes you belong.
Just two seasons in, Percy, Grover, and Annabeth go on multiple adventures and discover that the real enemy is never who they think. However, their mission isn’t over yet. As the threat of the returning Titans grows, a mysterious prophecy puts Percy at the center of the conflict, leaving plenty of story to be told. The fantasy series returns to screens on November 20th with a third season following the next book in the series, Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse. As it introduces several gods, including Aphrodite (Kate McKinnon), Artemis (Dafne Keen), and Apollo (Hubert Smielecki), as well as major new characters like Bianca (Olive Abercrombie) and Nico Di Angelo (Levi Chrisopulos), Season 3 promises to be an eventful addition. With an even more dangerous quest, Percy Jackson and the Olympians is making a much-anticipated return, but its growing popularity on Netflix will only build on that.
‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ Is Unlike Any Other Show
Image via Disney+- Image via Disney+
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Image via Disney+
Image via Disney+
Image via Disney+- Image via Disney+
- Image via Disney+
- Image via Disney+
- Image via Disney+
- Image via Disney+
Image via Disney+
Image via Disney+
Image via Disney+
Image via Disney+
Image via Disney+A lot sets Percy Jackson and the Olympians apart, but a major part of that is how it handles Greek mythology. By bringing these ancient stories into the modern era, the series delivers a unique, self-aware retelling of the myths in an easily understandable way. This sets it apart from the many other shows with similar inspiration. The result is sometimes an odd combination, like a Minotaur in underwear or Circe (Rosemarie DeWitt) turning men into guinea pigs. This rare approach is part of what makes the show so amusing, and paired with Percy’s sarcasm, it makes for a lighthearted fantasy like no other.
The family-friendly fantasy series has been a long time coming. Though the books are popular, the first attempt to adapt them resulted in two controversial films that never reached the end of the story. As Percy Jackson and the Olympians moves forward on Disney+, Season 3 will reach the part of the saga that has never before reached screens. The adaptation takes big risks, altering elements from the books, even as it follows the general storyline. While book purists certainly have things to say, this allows the show freedom to create even more surprises. Whether you loved the books or are completely new to the world, Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a thrilling series, full of monsters, heroes, and unexpected twists.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians is streaming on Disney+ and Netflix in the U.S.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians
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