The New Percy Jackson TV show? Good or bad

A review of Percy Jackson and the Olympians 

Watch Percy Jackson and the Olympians now on Disney+!

Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the classic novel series penned by Rick Riordan, is an archetypal entry in the fantasy genre. It’s previously been made into a musical, and a (incredibly badly received) movie duology. However, those are now considered old news, as now the ravenous fan base has a brand new Percy Jackson TV show, titled the same as the original series. At the time of writing, there are 5 episodes out on Disney+. Out of the first handful of episodes that have come out, this series does not disappoint. 

Everything is faithful to the first book, unlike the movies, the first of which received a critically low 49% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Even down to the names of the episodes, as each episode’s title is a direct reference to a chapter title in the original book series. The dedicated faithfulness to its source material is an excellent example of the difference between the creators behind the television series as compared to the movies. 

The actors Walker Scobell (portraying Percy Jackson), Leah Jeffries (Annabeth Chase), and Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood) just add to the impact of children being sent on a traditional fantasy quest, as the kids are 12 years old in the first book and the actors were 13 when they filmed the first season. You can feel the childhood connection when watching the show. And the actors manage to fill the footprints that these characters have made. In the books, Percy Jackson is the self-proclaimed king of snark, with a common fan nickname of the character being ‘Persassy’, and Walker Scobell truly portrays the youthful smart aleck Percy is. Leah Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri both respectively display the raw intelligence and confidence of Annabeth Chase and the protective nature of Grover Underwood. The actors are simply amazing and while some of the long-awaiting fanbase of the show were trepidation of the actor’s casting at first, a common response now is that they could not see anyone else playing these characters. 

In summary, the show is excellent at keeping watchers on the edge of their seats, even for those who read the novels. The Greek mythology displayed in the first few episodes shows a good grasp on the history involved, and while long-time fans of the series likely already know it, people who don't know a lot about it will get to learn something new. Showrunners claim each season of the show will correspond to a book from the original series, making this an amazing journey for everyone, and an enjoyable entrance to the world of Riordan’s writing.

Story By Rachel S. - Edited by Kit S.