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Rick Riordan’s much-loved series, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” makes a return to television, showcasing characters who have grown older and wiser, and in Percy’s case, noticeably taller since the first season. This adaptation offers a broader canvas for Riordan’s expansive narrative compared to a film version, though it sometimes seems to race from one plot point to the next. While the series still grapples with issues like inconsistent acting and questionable CGI, it maintains a faithful connection to the original books, which is sure to please dedicated fans.
Disney+
As the school year ends, Percy Jackson (Walker Scobell) finds himself in unsettling circumstances. Following the tumultuous adventures of the first season, Percy is apart from his closest friends: the satyr Grover (Aryan Simhadri) and Annabeth Chase (Leah Sava Jeffries), Athena’s daughter. Communication is tricky since monsters can trace cell phones, conveniently aiding the plot. Throughout the year, Percy’s unconventional mother has taken in the cyclops Tyson (Daniel Diemer), leaving Percy to care for the well-meaning but awkward giant. Meanwhile, Luke (Charlie Bushnell), Hermes’ son, continues to stir up trouble. When Camp Half-Blood becomes vulnerable, Percy embarks on another quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece and find the missing Grover. However, his relationship with Annabeth may face some unexpected challenges.
- Good performances from young cast
- Faithful to source material
The series is packed with activity, reflecting the complexity of the storyline. Though a full season allows for more narrative depth than a movie, the pacing still feels rushed, allowing only fleeting character interactions. Action scenes dominate, leaving little chance to delve into the characters’ personalities—an important element that has always drawn fans to the “Percy Jackson” books. Despite the cast being older and more experienced, they don’t get many chances to fully showcase their acting skills.
- Rushes through narrative
- CGI looks very cheap
The show also faces challenges with its ambitious world-building. It deserves praise for bringing a universe filled with Greek gods, monsters, and demi-gods to life on Earth. However, the TV format limits the CGI quality, making it difficult to avoid moments that appear somewhat low-budget. This can detract from the immersive experience, making it hard for viewers to fully engage with the storyline and action scenes.
Another issue is the series’ inconsistent tone. While the young characters tackle life-threatening situations and the collapse of friendships, the adult characters often come across as comedic. This approach aims to highlight the children’s competence but feels awkward with actors like Jason Mantzoukas and Timothy Simons playing such exaggerated roles during serious moments. This might be an attempt to attract a broader audience, but it doesn’t quite hit the mark.
It’s the end of the school year for Percy Jackson (Walker Scobell), and the vibes are most decidedly off. After the chaos of their quest from the first season, Percy has been separated from his best friends, the satyr Grover (Aryan Simhadri) and Annabeth Chase (Leah Sava Jeffries), a daughter of Athena. (It’s hard for them to contact each other since monsters can track cell phones, which is very convenient from a plot perspective.) Over the course of the school year, Percy’s wildcard mom has informally adopted the cyclops Tyson (Daniel Diemer), putting Percy in the reluctant position of taking care of the well-intentioned but extremely clumsy behemoth. And oh yeah, Hermes’ son Luke (Charlie Bushnell) is still out and about, causing trouble wherever he goes. When Camp Half-Blood becomes suddenly vulnerable, Percy will have to embark on yet another quest, this time to recover the Golden Fleece and track down the missing Grover. But from a Percy-Annabeth friendship perspective, things are about to get complicated.
Speedrunning the narrative
Disney+
If it sounds like there’s kind of a lot going on, that’s because there is. As a full season of television, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” has a bit more room to develop the book’s narrative than it would if it were a movie, but it still feels rushed, with little room for anything but the briefest of character moments. The action set pieces take up a lot of screen time, and we’re going from one to another without getting much of an opportunity to sit with the characters — and that’s a shame, because they’re a huge part of the reason that fans like the “Percy Jackson” books to begin with. The actors are older and more experienced at this point, but they’re not really given too many opportunities to … well, act.
And this leads to another problem that faces “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” We give it a lot of credit for its creative world-building, and how it gives viewers this fully realized universe where the Greek gods, monsters, and demi-gods are all walking around on Earth. But this is a television show, after all, and there are limitations to what they accomplish with CGI on a TV budget. The fact that this is such a special effects-laden series means that it’s really tough to avoid that a lot of it unfortunately looks pretty cheap. Sometimes this has the result of taking you out of the story, while other times it just prevents viewers from engaging as deeply with some of the action sequences.
What’s going on with the grown-ups?
Disney+
“Percy Jackson and the Olympians” also has tonal weirdness going on. The kids in the show are dealing with life or death situations, the destruction of their friendships, genuine threats to the only place in the world they’ve ever felt safe. The adults, on the other hand, are just a bunch of goofballs. There’s a long tradition of kids’ shows treating their adult characters like fools, to emphasize that the younger characters are capable and smart in their own right, but here it just feels strange to have Jason Mantzoukas and Timothy Simons hamming it up during such dire situations. Maybe this is just an effort to make “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” appeal to older audiences, but it doesn’t quite work.
Together, all of these issues make “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” the kind of show that will appeal to the people it was always going to appeal to. The fans who are just thrilled to get more of one of their favorite franchises with largely book-accurate casting will find a lot to like here. But it’s hard to imagine the show winning over audiences who aren’t already familiar with the series, especially since it strips the narrative of so much of its personality in its efforts to fit everything in. It’s not a disaster, but it lacks the charm that made the original books so popular in the first place.
“Percy Jackson and the Olympians” premieres on Disney+ on December 10.
