By: Hayley Strahs

Graphics Editor

On Dec. 20, the first episode of the TV adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians premiered on Disney Plus. Originally a popular middle-grade book series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians has garnered a large fandom since the first book’s release in 2005. In 2010, 1492 Pictures adapted the series into two poor-quality movies which fans, as well as author Rick Riordan, criticize. Fans have been itching for an adequate adaptation for years and are ecstatic about the show’s release. 

Percy Jackson and the Olympians follows Percy Jackson, a hyper, wise-cracking twelve-year-old boy living with his single mother in New York. After changing schools every year for six years, Percy is relieved to be at Yancy Academy with his best friend, Grover. However, on a museum field trip, Percy gets expelled for shoving his class bully into an outdoor fountain, despite swearing up and down that he did not do anything wrong. Later that night, while traveling to his and his mom’s cabin, they run into the Minotaur, an infamous Greek mythological monster. Grover brings Percy to Camp Half-Blood, a camp for children who are half human and half Greek god, just like Percy. Percy Jackson and the Olympians follows Percy and his friends’ quest, during which they run into Greek gods, monsters, and much more.

One of the main criticisms of the 2010 movie was the plot changes from the original books. However, the new TV adaptation follows the book closely, with its few deviations from the source material not taking away from the overarching plot. Despite Riordan writing the original Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series with middle and elementary schoolers in mind, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV show appeals to all audiences.

Many fans have praised the Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV show for its casting. Fifteen-year-old Walker Scobell, who starred alongside Ryan Reynolds in The Adam Project (2022) plays Percy and captures the character’s spunkiness perfectly, including jokes that have fans laughing. In addition, Leah Jeffries, who plays Annabeth Chase, brings a new, heartfelt take on Annabeth’s character, with new emotional scenes involving her character. Other cast members, such as Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood) and Charlie Bushnell (Luke Castellan) are also fan favorites.

No show is perfect, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians is not an exception. The show pronounces many words and names differently than fans initially assumed, most notably pronouncing Thalia as “thaw-lee-uh.” The other main criticism is the new Medusa scene, which deviates from the iconic book scene and instead features Medusa’s account of the story which portrays her as a victim.

With a phenomenal initial response, Percy Jackson and the Olympians is on track to become the Percy Jackson adaptation that fans have been yearning for for years. Anyone with even a mild interest in Greek mythology or Percy Jackson will not regret streaming Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+ this winter.