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On December 19th 2023, Disney released its new Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV show based on the wildly popular book series of the same name. The show has gained much attention from fans, breaking a Disney television record with a reported 13.3 million viewers watching the show within the first six days of its premiere according to an article published on IGN. Its popularity is especially evident on various social media platforms like Tik Tok, where the show and its characters have remained trending topics of conversation. With all the commotion caused by the arrival of such a long-anticipated show, I decided to interview fans Emma Nelsen and Antonia Green to get their opinions on the episodes that have come out so far.
IZZY PAREJA: How much of the show have you watched so far?
EMMA NELSEN: I have seen all four episodes that I think are currently out.
ANTONIA GREEN: So far I’ve only watched one episode.
PAREJA: What made you want to watch the show initially?
NELSEN: I was a huge fan of the books. I think I read them probably either late elementary school or early middle school. I mean that genre of you know, those YA books where it’s either fantasy or mythology related or anything like that was huge in that time period for me and a lot of other people. So that’s what made me want to watch the show.
GREEN: So I read all the Percy Jackson books in middle school and then I read the second series Heroes of Olympus and like I made it my whole personality. I was such a Percy Jackson girl, I loved it.
PAREJA: And what are your overall feelings about the show so far?
NELSEN: I feel pretty good about it so far. I feel like the casting is really good. You can definitely tell they’re—and this is part of why the casting is good—that they’re the age that they’re meant to be, at least roughly. But with that, there’s definitely some moments where like, okay, they are child actors. Let’s not expect too much of them yet.
GREEN: I thought it was okay. I really enjoyed seeing Percy and like reliving childhood memories and all of that. But I don’t know, I guess I wasn’t like the biggest fan ever, just because it felt like the acting wasn’t amazing. And I feel bad because they’re so young. But it didn’t really make me excited to watch the next one.
This show is not Disney’s first attempt to adapt the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series. The original movie franchise disappointed fans with its brazen lack of loyalty to the source material, prompting its cancellation after only two installments. Many fans questioned whether another adaptation would ever be a possibility following the second film’s release and subsequent failure in 2013. However, in committing itself to the content of the books, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians show seems to be everything fans could’ve asked for and more of a second attempt.
NELSEN: When they announced the show, I was super excited because I’d seen the movies and you know, they’re not considered great. Like, they’re fine, but there’s just a lot of things that sort of bothered me about them. The movies were entertaining in their own right, but this one you can tell it’s like, the changes they’re making are less drastic, and they seem a little more purposeful. I’m not like in love with the show, at least yet. But I definitely think it’s a lot more enjoyable than the movies—it’s got more heart to it.
GREEN: I think it was definitely better than the movies because at least they look like 12 years old on screen. I think they did a really good job diversifying the cast, and there’s really good special effects.
Despite the varying levels of satisfaction expressed by viewers, there’s no doubt that the show shares a certain quality with the books that draws you in one way or another:
NELSEN: I’m definitely excited to watch more. I feel like it’s only going to get better because, one, I think their acting will get better. Like the kids, as they go on, they’ll get more into their character. And also, it’ll be fun to watch their relationships develop. We’re building towards the climax of the first book. And even with the next seasons, like my favorite book is probably the fifth one. So there’s always something to look forward to there because the stakes just only get higher and higher.
GREEN: In this moment I’m like not, you know, super pressed about it. But I’ve heard from other people that it’s great, plus Tik Tok is like obsessed with it, so I feel like if I kept watching it, I would get more into it.
In light of the previous adaptations, it seems as though the Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV series is a much more suitable and fan-appreciated adaptation of the books than the previous movies. With this success, there are many more episodes and seasons likely to come from this new extension of the Percy Jackson universe.
For WNUR News, I’m Izzy Pareja.
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