ʼPercy Jackson and the Olympiansʼ Series Release Moved Up Six Hours

In the streamer’s most sensible move as it was the next highly touted prestige series, it is the next to get that primetime release slot

What took you so long Disney+? The streamer “surprise” dropped the first two episodes of their long-awaited Percy Jackson and the Olympians series Tuesday night at 9 PM Eastern/6 PM Pacific.

This has become rather familiar ground for Disney+’s prestige series, as primetime releases on the streamer became more regular with Ahsoka from August to October and then picked up by Loki’s second season just two days later on Thursday nights until its finale. Percy Jackson was originally given a December 20 release date at the the standard release time of 3 AM Eastern/Midnight Pacific like most of the streamer’s content traffic. After Echo’s all-at-once release in January was just given the same promotion, it was becoming quite ludicrous that something just as highly-touted wasn’t getting the same kind of release. Even if it would be and did become the first non-Marvel or Star Wars series to get it. And indeed, the time slot the first two episodes, titled “I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher” and “I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom” were released on is where the rest of the episodes will release weekly until the season finale on January 31.

“We’re so grateful for the amazing and dedicated Percy Jackson fans who have enthusiastically supported this project from the very beginning,” said Pamela Levine, who is head of marketing at Disney Branded Television and National Geographic Content. “They’ve been counting down the days, and as a special thank you, we wanted to let our fans enjoy the first two episodes a bit earlier than expected.” The first episode has also been made available on Hulu, where said availability will last until the season ends.

Based on best-selling book series by Rick Riordan, the first season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, like the first movie, adapts The Lightning Thief. 12-year-old modern demigod Percy Jackson comes to terms with his newfound divine powers. Seasons for all five books are planned. Walker Scobell plays Percy, while Leah Sava Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri are his best friends Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood. Zeus is played by the late Lance Reddick. Other cast includes camp staff like Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hermes, Megan Mullally as Alecto/Mrs. Dodds, Jason Mantzoukas as Dionysus/Mr. D, Jay Duplass as Hades, Timothy Omundson as Hephaestus, Jessica Parker Kennedy as Medusa, Toby Stephens as Poseidon, Virginia Kull as Percy’s mother Sally Jackson, Glynn Turman as Chiron/Mr. Brunner, and Adam Copeland, aka WWE wrestler Edge, as Ares. There are also peer characters including Charlie Bushnell as Luke Castellan, Dior Goodjohn as Clarisse La Rue, Olivea Morton as Nancy Bobofit, Suzanne Cryer as Echidna, and Timm Sharp as Gabe Ugliano.

Following the initial, poorly-received, and far-straying film adaptations from 20th Century Fox, Riordan was much more involved with the making of the series. He wrote the first two episodes with executive producer and showrunner Jon Steinberg. James Bobin directed the first two episodes. Dan Shotz is the series’s other showrunner. They and Riordan executive produce with his wife Rebecca, Steinberg, and The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, D.J. Goldberg, Bert Salke, Bobin, Jim Rowe, Monica Owusu-Breen, Anders Engström and Jet Wilkinson. Check out the official trailer I never got around to writing its own article for.

Source: Variety