Percy Jackson and the Olympians is an American fantasy adventure television series created by Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg for the streaming service Disney+. The show is based on the book series of the same name by Rick Riordan. Walker Scobell plays the main character, Percy Jackson, alongside Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase and Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood.

Work on the series began in May 2020 after Rick Riordan shared his idea with Disney Branded Television. Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Shotz were named showrunners in July 2021, and James Bobin was hired to direct the first episode in October. Walker Scobell was cast as the lead character in January 2022, with Leah Sava Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri joining the cast in May. Filming for the series took place in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The first season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians premiered on December 19, 2023, with the first two episodes. The remaining six episodes of the first season were released weekly through January 30, 2024. The first season is based on the first book in the series, The Lightning Thief. The series was renewed for a second season in February 2024, which is based on the second book, The Sea of Monsters. The second season premiered on December 10, 2025, with the first two episodes available on both Disney+ and Hulu. In March 2025, before the second season began, the series was renewed for a third season, which will adapt the third book, The Titan's Curse.

Critics have given the series positive reviews, praising its worldbuilding, faithfulness to the original books, and the performances of the actors, including Scobell, Jeffries, Simhadri, and Bushnell. The series has won several awards, including eight of the sixteen Children's and Family Emmy Awards for which it was nominated, such as Outstanding Young Teen Series and awards for writing and directing.

Premise

In the first season, twelve-year-old half-human, half-god Percy Jackson is accused by the Greek god Zeus of stealing his thunderbolt. Percy works quickly to find the stolen item and fix the problems on Mount Olympus.

In the second season, Percy returns to Camp Half-Blood one year later. He discovers that the camp is facing danger from Kronos and his army, and learns that his friend Grover has disappeared. Percy must go on a journey to the Sea of Monsters to find the Golden Fleece.

Cast and characters

• Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson, a young demigod and son of Poseidon. Azriel Dalman portrays a younger version of Percy in season 1.
• Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase, a daughter of Athena who has trained at Camp Half-Blood for five years. Jeffries’s cousin, Marissa Lior Winans, portrays a younger Annabeth in season 2.
• Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood, Percy’s best friend, protector, and a satyr.
• Charlie Bushnell as Luke Castellan (season 2; recurring season 1), a clever son of Hermes and the counselor of the Hermes cabin. Luke is later revealed to be working with Kronos.
• Dior Goodjohn as Clarisse La Rue (season 2; recurring season 1), a strong-willed daughter of Ares who bullies Percy.
• Daniel Diemer as Tyson (season 2), Percy’s Cyclops half-brother.

• Megan Mullally as Alecto / Mrs. Dodds (season 1), Percy’s strict math teacher who secretly serves the god Hades as one of the three Furies.
• Virginia Kull as Sally Jackson, Percy’s selfless mother.
• Timm Sharp as Gabe Ugliano (season 1), Sally’s husband and Percy’s stepfather. Rick Riordan’s wife and executive producer, Rebecca Riordan, stated that Gabe’s abusive behavior, which appears in the book, was softened for the show to avoid being too disturbing on screen.
• Glynn Turman as Chiron / Mr. Brunner, a centaur and Activities Director of Camp Half-Blood. Chiron uses an enchanted wheelchair to disguise himself among humans but has a brace on his left hind leg due to a war injury. This detail was added to show his disability, though it would only be a small part of the first season.
• Nick Boraine as Kronos, the King of the Titans who appears as a voice in Percy’s dreams.
• Jason Mantzoukas as Dionysus / Mr. D, the god of wine and grumpy camp director of Camp Half-Blood. Dionysus holds this position as punishment from Zeus for chasing an off-limits nymph and must substitute soda for wine.
• Adam Copeland as Ares (season 1; guest season 2), the arrogant and daring god of war.
• Timothy Simons as King Tantalus (season 2), a spirit from the Fields of Punishment, a son of Zeus, and the interim Activities Director of Camp Half-Blood. Tantalus is cursed with eternal hunger and thirst after revealing secrets about the Olympians and cooking his son Pelops to serve to the gods.
• Beatrice Kitsos as Alison Simms (season 2), a daughter of Apollo and graduate demigod from Camp Half-Blood who lives in the human world and sides with Kronos’ army. Alison is an original character created for the series.
• Andrew Alvarez (season 1) and Kevin Chacon (season 2) as Chris Rodriguez, a son of Hermes and Luke’s half-brother. Alvarez was recast as Theo, a rogue demigod in Kronos’ army, in the second season.
• Tamara Smart as Thalia Grace (season 2), the powerful and rebellious daughter of Zeus who was turned into a tree by her father after sacrificing herself to save Annabeth, Luke, and Grover.

• Olivea Morton as Nancy Bobofit (season 1), a blunt teacher’s pet who enjoys tormenting Percy.
• Hiro Kanagawa as the headmaster of Yancy Academy (season 1). Kanagawa also portrays Kronos’ headmaster form in a dream in “We Take a Zebra to Vegas.”
• Simon Chin as Eddie (season 1), the building superintendent of the apartment where the Jacksons live.
• Manoj Sood as Percy Jackson’s second-grade principal (season 1).
• Jason Gray-Stanford and Garfield Wilson as Maron and Leneus (season 1), two members of the Council of Cloven Elders.
• Kathleen Duborg as Helena (season 1), a dryad and maternal figure for Grover.
• Threnody Tsai as Sarah, a wheelchair-using demigod and skilled archer.
• Jessica Parker Kennedy as Medusa (season 1), a gorgon who lives in solitude and has a past with Percy’s father.
• Sara J. Southey as Tisiphone (season 1), a member of the Furies.
• Jennifer Shirley (season 1) and Heather Feeney (season 2) as Pythia, the Oracle of Delphi whose mummified remains are in Camp Half-Blood.
• Suzanne Cryer as Echidna (season 1), the menacing mother of monsters.
• Joyce Robbins, La Nein Harrison, and Cindy Piper as Atropos, Lachesis, and Clotho (season 1), the three Fates, goddesses of destiny.
• Timothy Omundson as Hephaestus (season 1), the god of blacksmiths and forges who is strong, compassionate, and merciful unlike the other gods.
• Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hermes, the messenger of the gods and god of thieves and travelers who is charismatic and boisterous.
• Ted Dykstra as Augustus (season 1), an older satyr and friend of Grover.
• Jelena Milinovic as Eudora (season 1), a Nereid who works for Poseidon.
• Toby Stephens as Poseidon, Percy’s father and god of the sea who is stubborn and impulsive.
• Julian Richings as Procrustes (season 1), a son of Poseidon, Percy’s half-brother, and a waterbed salesman who kills people by stretching them to the size of his beds. Richings previously portrayed Charon in the film Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010).
• Jay Duplass as Hades (season 1), the god of the Underworld who is a misunderstood genius and an outcast to his family.
• Travis Woloshyn as Charon (season 1), the ferryman of the River Styx.
• Lance Reddick (season 1) and Courtney B. Vance (season 2) as Zeus, the fierce King of the Olympians whose thunderbolt was stolen in the first season.
• Kristen Schaal, Margaret Cho, and Sandra Bernhard as Tempest, Wasp, and Anger (season 2), the three Gray Sisters who operate an Olympian taxi service in the Greater New York City area.
• Marlo Marolle as Mark, a son of Ares.
• Mark Gibbon, Dan Payne, Daniel Cudmore, Paul Cheng, and Kyle Strauts as Joe Bob, Marrow Sucker, Skull Eater, Brain Biter, and Spine Crusher (season 2), five Laestrygonians allied with Kronos. Cudmore previously portrayed a Manticore in

Production

In November 2018, Rick Riordan said he might not have control over how a new version of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians books would be made, similar to his experience with the movie series by 20th Century Fox. In December 2019, Riordan shared an idea for a new version of the books with Disney, which had bought Fox in March 2019. By May 2020, Disney+ was planning a series based on Percy Jackson, with the first season adapting the first book, The Lightning Thief. In March 2021, Disney said they were looking for directors and actors for the series. James Bobin was chosen to direct the first episode in October 2021. Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Shotz were named as showrunners in July 2021.

Disney Branded Television approved the series in January 2022, with 20th Television and the Gotham Group making the show. Steinberg, Shotz, Bobin, Riordan, and others were named as executive producers. At the D23 Expo in September 2022, Anders Engström and Jet Wilkinson were also announced as executive producers. In the same month, Riordan said Engström would direct episodes 3 and 4, and Wilkinson would direct episodes 5 and 6. The series was reported to cost $12 to $15 million per episode.

In February 2024, Disney+ said the series would return for a second season, which would adapt the second book, The Sea of Monsters. In April 2024, Albert Kim was added as an executive producer for the second season. In March 2025, Disney+ announced a third season, which would adapt the third book, The Titan's Curse, and begin in 2026.

By March 2021, Disney was reviewing drafts of the first episode. In April 2021, Steinberg was named co-writer and executive producer of the pilot, along with Riordan. That same day, several writers joined the team. Each season will adapt one book from the series, starting with The Lightning Thief. The first season has eight episodes.

Writing for the second season began in March 2023. Plans for future seasons include exploring more about Chiron’s disability. Writing for the third season started in late February 2025.

Casting for the series began in April 2021. In January 2022, Walker Scobell was cast as Percy Jackson, and this was announced in April 2022. In May 2022, Leah Sava Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri were cast as Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood. Some people online were upset about this choice because Annabeth is not described as Black in the books. Riordan said this was racism and encouraged people to see Leah as Annabeth. Logan Lerman, who played Percy in the movies, supported the casting choices.

In June 2022, Virginia Kull, Glynn Turman, Jason Mantzoukas, Megan Mullally, and Timm Sharp joined the cast as Sally Jackson, Chiron, Dionysus, Alecto, and Gabe Ugliano. Dior Goodjohn and Charlie Bushnell were added as Clarisse La Rue and Luke Castellan. Olivea Morton played Nancy Bobofit. Pro wrestler Adam Copeland was cast as Ares. Suzanne Cryer and Jessica Parker Kennedy played Echidna and Medusa. In November 2022, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jay Duplass, and Timothy Omundson guest-starred as Hermes, Hades, and Hephaestus. Lance Reddick and Toby Stephens joined as Zeus and Poseidon in January 2023. Jason Gray-Stanford was cast in an undisclosed role, later revealed as Maron.

In July 2023, Daniel Diemer was cast as Tyson at San Diego Comic-Con. In August 2023, Sandra Bernhard, Kristen Schaal, and Margaret Cho were cast as the Gray Sisters. Timothy Simons joined as Tantalus. Tamara Smart was cast as Thalia Grace. Andra Day was cast as Athena at D23 Brazil. Courtney B. Vance replaced Lance Reddick as Zeus after Reddick’s death. Rosemarie DeWitt, Aleks Paunovic, Beatrice Kitsos, and Kevin Chacon joined as guest stars.

At San Diego Comic-Con 2025, Levi Chrisopulos and Olive Abercrombie were cast as Nico di Angelo and Bianca di Angelo. Riordan said they were already discussing casting Atlas, the season’s villain. Dafne Keen and Saara Chaudry were cast as Artemis and Zoë Nightshade. Kate McKinnon joined as Aphrodite. Holt McCallany, David Costabile, and Jesse L. Martin were cast as Atlas, Dr. Thorn, and Frederick Chase. Ming-Na Wen, Jennifer Beals, and Hubert Smielecki completed the cast of the Twelve Olympians as Hera, Demeter, and Apollo.

Principal photography for the first season began on June 2, 2022, in Vancouver, British Columbia, under the working title Mink Golden. It ended on February 2, 2023. Scenes were filmed at Mammoth Studios and locations like Minaty Bay, Aldergrove, Hycroft Manor, Westminster Pier Park, and Simon Fraser University.

Principal photography for the second season started on August 1, 2024, in Vancouver, and ended on January 31, 2025. Scenes set in Port Jefferson, New York, were filmed in Steveston, British Columbia.

Pre-production for the third season began in July 2025. Principal photography started on August 7, 2025, in Vancouver, and ended on March 12, 2026.

Dan Hennah is the production designer. Tish Monaghan designed costumes for the first season, and Catherine Adair did so for the second season.

By October 2023, Bear McCreary was writing music for the series. He previously worked with Steinberg and Shotz on other projects. The first season’s score was released digitally on December 22, 2023, by Hollywood Records.

Marketing

A teaser for the series was shown during the D23 Expo in September 2022. Rotem Rusak from Nerdist mentioned that the teaser included the opening lines of The Lightning Thief. Kendall Myers from Collider observed that the teaser had a dark tone. A second teaser for the first season was shared on September 19, 2023. This trailer was released on November 16 and was viewed 84.3 million times in the first 10 days across all social media platforms.

The first teaser for the second season was shown during the D23 Expo in August 2024. A second teaser for the second season was released on July 24, 2025, at San Diego Comic-Con. This trailer was made public on November 6 and was viewed 135.9 million times in the first 10 days across all social media platforms. This was a 60% increase compared to the first season’s trailer in the same period. A special crossover episode with Phineas and Ferb, titled Phineas and Ferb Recap: Percy Jackson, was released on December 5, 2025.

At the end of the second season, the finale showed a first look at the third season, featuring Percy and Annabeth dancing together.

Release

The first season was originally planned to begin in early 2024. However, Hulu announced that episodes would be available to stream starting December 20, 2023. The first season began on Disney+ with two episodes on December 19, one day earlier than expected. A special premiere event took place in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on December 13 and in London at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on December 16. Eight episodes were released each week until January 30, 2024. The season started airing on Disney Channel on May 2, 2025.

The second season began on December 10, 2025, on Disney+ and Hulu, with the first two episodes released. The remaining episodes were released weekly until the season finale on January 21, 2026. A premiere event was held in Los Angeles at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on December 3, in São Paulo at Ibirapuera Park on December 7, in London at Picturehouse Central on December 10, in Madrid at the Teatro Calderón on December 13, and in New York City at the Paley Center for Media on December 17.

The third season is scheduled to begin in 2026.

Reception

In December 2023, Disney reported that 13.3 million people watched the first episode of Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+ and Hulu during its first six days. A company called Samba TV, which collects data from smart TVs and content providers, found that 898,000 U.S. households watched the first episode on Disney+ during the same time. These households included 10 percent more people aged 20–24 than average. In January 2024, Disney said the episode had been viewed by 26.2 million people after three weeks. Each of the next four episodes reached at least 10 million viewers within seven days of their release. Over seven weeks, the series was streamed for a total of 110 million hours on Disney+ and Hulu. By May 10, 2024, the first season was the most-watched Disney+ original series, with 23.3 percent of all viewers watching it. Another company, Luminate, which tracks TV data in the U.S., reported that by the end of 2024, the first season remained Disney+'s most-watched original series of the year, with 3.07 billion minutes viewed between December 29, 2023, and December 31, 2024. A company named Whip Media, which tracks data from its TV Time app used by over 25 million people worldwide, found that Percy Jackson and the Olympians was the most-streamed original TV show in the U.S. from January 28 to February 4, 2024. The series stayed in the top ten most-streamed shows through February 18, 2024.

A streaming analytics firm called FlixPatrol reported that the second season became the most popular show on Disney+ in the U.S. and globally within two days of its premiere. On December 15, 2025, Disney+ Brasil said the second season’s premiere had twice as many viewers as the first season’s. Brazil had the largest international audience for the show, and the second season was among the ten most-watched series on Disney+ in the country for 2025. Nielsen Media Research, which tracks streaming data on some U.S. TVs, found that Percy Jackson and the Olympians was watched for 508 million minutes from December 8–14, 2023, with 52 percent of that time spent watching season two. The series was viewed for 410 million minutes from December 15–21, 436 million minutes from December 22–28, 574 million minutes from December 29 to January 4, and 361 million minutes from January 5–11.

On Rotten Tomatoes, a website that collects reviews, 91 percent of 65 critics gave the first season positive reviews. The site’s summary said, “A faithful adaptation of Rick Riordan’s novels, Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a lovingly realized odyssey through adolescence and myth.” Metacritic, which uses a scoring method that considers different factors, gave the first season a score of 73 out of 100 based on 26 critics, meaning “generally favorable reviews.”

Nicole Drum of ComicBook.com wrote, “Some of the best casting ever in a television series, fantastic performances, and even the magic of the visuals and world-building make the series about as perfect a television adaptation as you can get.” Matthew Creith of TheWrap praised the writing, saying it was “quick-witted, the action is stellar, and making Percy’s journey an episodic tale helps to propel the young character forward in exciting directions.” Kathryn Porter of Paste wrote, “From the casting to the writing to the production design, we get the adaptation of The Lightning Thief that we have been wanting for over a decade to see, and there is nowhere to go but up.” Aramide Tinubu of Variety said, “The series depicts a genuinely inclusive world, showcasing storylines and characters that will captivate fans for the next decade. At long last, Riordan’s work has been given the extensive visual adaptation it deserves.”

On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has a 100 percent approval rating based on 36 critic reviews. The site’s summary said, “Taking its young heroes to new seas, Percy Jackson and the Olympians grows bigger and better, bringing us all along for a new glorious adventure.” Metacritic gave the second season a score of 73 out of 100 based on nine critics, meaning “generally favorable reviews.”

At the 3rd Children’s and Family Emmy Awards, the show won eight of the sixteen awards for which it was nominated (a record number of nominations until surpassed by Star Wars: Skeleton Crew the following year), including Outstanding Young Teen Series. The first season also received nominations at the Directors, Producers, and Writers Guilds of America Awards.

Other media

In January 2024, Disney+ announced a documentary that shows how the show Percy Jackson and the Olympians was made. The documentary was shown at the same time as the first-season finale on January 30, 2024. A Fortnite island called Percy Jackson: Siege of Monsters, featuring characters from the show, became available on December 9, 2025. Disney Entertainment Television created a podcast that goes along with the second season. The podcast was available on Disney+, Hulu, YouTube, and other podcast websites when each episode came out.