Honestly, if you grew up clutching a dog-eared copy of The Lightning Thief, you’ve probably spent the last decade and a half in a state of perpetual defensive crouch. We all remember the movies. We remember the 16-year-old Percy, the missing Ares fight, and the general feeling that the people making the films hadn't actually read the books—or if they had, they didn't really like them.
So when the Percy Jackson TV show finally landed on Disney+, the collective sigh of relief was loud enough to shake Mount Olympus. But now that we’re deep into the release of Season 2, The Sea of Monsters, things are getting complicated.
It’s not just about "book accuracy" anymore. It’s about whether a faithful adaptation can actually capture the vibe of being a snarky, terrified twelve-year-old kid.
The Casting "Controversy" That Wasn't
Let’s be real. A vocal corner of the internet lost its mind when Leah Sava Jeffries was cast as Annabeth Chase. They complained about hair color and "accuracy," ignoring the most important thing: her chemistry with Walker Scobell.
Scobell is, basically, the Percy Jackson we’ve been waiting for. He has that specific brand of "I’m about to get hit by a bus but I have a joke about it" energy that defines the character. Seeing him interact with Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri (Grover) in Season 1 proved that Rick Riordan knew exactly what he was doing. They feel like actual kids. They’re messy, they’re awkward, and they don’t look like 25-year-old models masquerading as middle-schoolers.
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Why Season 2 is Changing the Game
As of January 2026, we are officially in the thick of Season 2, which premiered on December 10, 2025. If you haven't been keeping up, the show is currently airing weekly on Disney+ and Hulu, with the finale, "The Fleece Works Its Magic Too Well," scheduled for January 21, 2026.
This season adapts The Sea of Monsters, and it's doing something the 2013 movie failed at miserably: making the stakes feel personal.
- Tyson is finally here. Daniel Diemer has taken on the role of Percy’s cyclops half-brother. Unlike the movie’s version—which felt like a weirdly airbrushed caricature—the show treats Tyson’s homelessness and his relationship with Percy with a surprising amount of grit.
- The Gray Sisters taxi scene. Filmed at the junction of Hornby and Hastings Streets in Vancouver, this sequence (which dropped in the premiere) was a masterclass in using "The Volume" technology correctly. It felt claustrophobic and chaotic, just like the book.
- Thalia Grace is real. Tamara Smart has been cast as Thalia, and while we’ve mostly seen her in glimpses and the iconic tree-guarding backstory, her presence looms large over the entire season.
The "Rick Riordan" Factor: A Double-Edged Sword?
Rick Riordan’s involvement was the big selling point. "The author is in the room!" we all screamed. And for the most part, it's worked. The Percy Jackson TV show includes the moments we missed, like the St. Louis Arch sequence or the actual God of War showing up to pick a fight.
But there’s a weird tension here. Some fans argue that because Rick is involved, he’s trying to "fix" things he wrote twenty years ago.
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Take the Medusa encounter in Season 1. In the book, it’s a straight-up monster fight. In the show, they give Medusa a tragic backstory and a conversation about Athena’s cruelty. Is it deeper? Yes. Does it kill the pacing for some viewers? Also yes.
Recently, Riordan himself admitted on social media that working on the show made him understand the "movies" a bit better. Not that he likes them now, but he realizes how hard it is to translate prose to the screen. You can't just film a book. You have to translate it.
The Elephant in the Room: The Ratings
Nielsen data from early January 2026 shows a bit of a "sophomore slump." The Season 2 premiere pulled in about 508 million minutes of watch time. That’s an 11% drop from the Season 1 premiere.
Does this mean the show is in trouble? Not necessarily. Disney already greenlit Season 3 (The Titan’s Curse) back in March 2025. They’re playing the long game. They know that this is a "legacy" franchise—the kind of show kids will rewatch for the next decade. Plus, with the Hulu merger, the audience is more spread out than ever.
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What Most People Get Wrong About the Show
A lot of critics say the show is "too slow." They want the frantic energy of a Marvel movie.
But they’re missing the point. Percy Jackson was always a travelogue. It’s a road trip story. The show spends time on the quiet moments—the conversations in the back of a truck or the trauma of having a literal God for a father who never calls.
If you go in expecting John Wick with swords, you’re going to be bored. If you go in expecting a story about a kid trying to survive a world that wasn't built for him, it’s perfect.
Survival Tips for New Viewers:
- Forget the movies. Seriously. If you’re still comparing Walker Scobell to Logan Lerman, you’re not watching the show that’s actually in front of you.
- Watch with the captions on. The show is dense with Greek terminology and subtle nods to the wider "Riordanverse" that are easy to miss.
- Check out the "A Hero's Journey" documentary. It’s on Disney+ and gives a really honest look at how the kids handled the sudden fame and the physical demands of the stunts.
The Path Forward
The Percy Jackson TV show has three episodes left in its current season. We’re heading toward the Polyphemus encounter and the inevitable return of a certain character that will change the dynamic of the "trio" forever.
If the show maintains its current trajectory, we’re looking at a five-to-six-season run that finally does justice to the camp at Montauk and the heights of Olympus.
Next Steps for Fans:
- Rewatch Season 2, Episode 5 ("We Check In to C.C.'s Spa & Resort") to catch the hidden Easter eggs regarding Circe’s past.
- Follow Rick Riordan’s "Mythomagic" blog for updates on the Season 3 casting, which is rumored to begin filming in Vancouver this spring.
- Clear your schedule for January 21st. The finale is expected to have the highest budget of the series so far, specifically for the "Fleece" effects.