With Greek mythology as popular as it's ever been, there’s no better time than the present to reignite interest in the world of Percy Jackson. While it's not the first time Rick Riordan's characters have graced the screen, the latest adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which debuted on Disney+ on December 19, 2023, is nevertheless generating buzz anew. And if you're a fan of mythology, stories of found family, legends of deadly prophecies, a bit of otherworldly magic, and some good old-fashioned adventure, you too will no doubt adore Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is one of the most popular fantasy series for young readers. With a charming protagonist and an intricate storyline that follows Percy and his demigod pals through a variety of quests, it's no surprise that the television show has already been well-reviewed by critics and audiences alike. Looking to brush up before the next episode? Read on.

Warning: This following article contains spoilers for the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series and the first three episodes of the Disney+ original series.

What is Percy Jackson and the Olympians about?

The first season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians aligns with the first book in Rick Riordan’s middle-grade fantasy series, The Lightning Thief. This novel begins the tale of a 12-year-old boy named Percy Jackson who discovers that Greek gods live amongst humans. After Percy's algebra teacher turns into a monster and tries to kill him, his mom thinks it's finally time to reveal the truth—his father is none other than Poseidon, God of the Sea. Demigod Percy is whisked away to Camp Half-Blood, where he meets other children like him, and a curious mystery unfolds as he embarks on a quest with pals Annabeth and Grover to retrieve Zeus's master lightning bolt.

Who wrote Percy Jackson and the Olympians?

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is written by Rick Riordan, who has penned more than 20 novels, and counting, for young readers. He is also the mastermind behind the series Heroes of Olympus, The Kane Chronicles, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, and The Trials of Apollo. Other titles by Riordan include Daughter of the Deep and The Sun and the Star (co-written with Mark Oshiro), as well as The 39 Clues mystery series for children and the Tres Navarre mystery series for adults.

Rick Riordan and his wife, Becky, are executive producers of the Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians and TV adaptations of The Kane Chronicles and Daughter of the Deep too. As we’ve seen in the early episodes of Percy Jackson, their oversight has been instrumental to keeping the adaptation true to both the plot and the heart of the original story.

What inspired Percy Jackson and the Olympians?

Riordan's inspiration came from home. In a beautiful post published to his personal blog, Riordan explains that after his son became interested in Greek mythology, he’d tell him bedtime stories about the lore’s greatest gods, heroes, and monsters. After Riordan realized that he’d had run out of stories to tell, it was his son who encouraged him to make up new ones. With his son's recent diagnoses of ADHD and dyslexia in mind, Riordan wanted to tell the story of a neurodivergent young boy who saves the world. 

So, what do we know about the Percy Jackson and the Olympians television adaptation?

In May 2020, it was announced that a Disney+ television adaptation of the first book in the series, The Lighting Thief, was in the works, and in January 2022, it was finally revealed that the series had been green-lit. Back in 2018, Riordan mentioned that if there was ever a chance for a Disney reboot of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series, he believed he would have no creative control over it, similar to his previous experiences with the film adaptations. Fortunately for faithful fans of the books, that turned out not to be the case, as Riordan and his wife are EPs on the show.

When it comes to the casting, what fans of the books wanted most of all is a core cast that really embodied the story’s dynamic young trio. Walker Scobell, best known for playing a younger version of Ryan Reynolds's character in Netflix's The Adam Project, stars as Percy Jackson. Leah Sava Jeffries plays Annabeth Chase, and Aryan Simhadri plays Grover Underwood. And from what we’ve seen thus far, these young performers are perfectly suited for their roles.

Completing the cast in supporting roles are Virginia Kull as Sally Jackson; Glynn Turman as Chiron/Mr. Brunner; Dior Goodjohn as Clarisse La Rue; Charlie Bushnell as Luke Castellan; Jason Mantzoukas as Dionysus; Adam Copeland as Ares; Megan Mullally as Alecto/Mrs. Dodd; Jessica Parker Kennedy as Medusa; Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hermes; Jay Duplass as Hades; Lance Reddick as Zeus; and Toby Stephens as Poseidon.

What's happened so far on Percy Jackson and the Olympians?

Percy Jackson and the Olympians premiered on Disney+ on December 19, 2023. The first season of the television adaptation will have 8 episodes, so we’ve just about reached the halfway mark.

In the first episode, Percy’s life gets even more complicated—his encounter with the class bully reveals some serious godlike powers and gets the attention of Alecto, a Fury cloaked in the guise of his algebra teacher. Percy is expelled from his prep school and returns home, begging his mother, Sally, for answers about what’s actually happening to him. Sally takes Percy out to their seaside cabin in Montauk, where, she reveals, she met his father years ago. Sounds romantic? There’s just one catch—his father is the Greek god Poseidon. The world of myth is real.

Grover, Percy’s best friend from school, arrives at the cabin, revealing his true form—Grover is a satyr designated to be Percy’s protector. He tells Sally and Percy that they need to get a move on to Camp Half-Blood, a safe haven for demigods. On the way, they’re attacked by a minotaur, and Sally is presumed dead. As Percy settles in at Camp, he bides his time until he is claimed by his godly parent, Poseidon. He soon meets Annabeth Chase, the daughter of Athena, who recruits him for a camp game of capture the flag. Witnessing his abilities, Annabeth suspects Percy’s parentage and shoves him into a lake to prove her theory—in that moment, he is claimed by Poseidon. Any relief is short-lived, though, as Percy soon finds he has been accused of stealing Zeus’s lightning bolt. Their world teeters on the brink of war, and in order to stop it, Percy must set out on a quest to find and return the bolt within a week. Percy’s resolve is emboldened when he learns that his mother survived the minotaur attack and can still be saved. He sets out with Annabeth and Grover, ready to face down whatever may come.

In episode three, the trio's cross-country trip towards Hades is interrupted by an unexpected return visit from Alecto. They narrowly escape but cross paths with Medusa, who tries to convince Percy to fight for his mother and reject the wills of gods that she views as cruel and manipulative. She is unsuccessful in winning him over, and with the clever use of Annabeth’s invisibility cap, a gift from her mother, Athena, our heroes decapitate Medusa. They use Medusa’s visage to cast Alecto, still waiting outside, into stone, and then mail off the monster’s head to Olympus.

After such a daunting encounter, Percy, Grover, and Annabeth steel themselves and continue on their quest towards the Underworld to recover Zeus’s bolt and rescue Percy’s mother. In episode four, dauntingly titled "I Plunge to My Death," the trio's attempt to ride the rails towards the Underworld is undermined by Echidna, the mother of all monsters, who attacks their train with a chimera in tow. After narrowly escaping, our young heroes seek refuge in the St. Louis Gateway Arch, which also happens to be a monument to Athena. But Athena offers no such protection to her daughter, as she was deeply embarrassed and shamed by the arrival of Medusa's head. Percy determines to sacrifice himself in order to save his friends, but Poseidon intervenes, sweeping Percy into the Mississippi after he falls from the highest point of the archway.

In the most recent installment, Annabeth is anxious after she sees the the three fates near the Gateway Arch. Chillingly, she witnesses Atropos cut the thread of life, signaling an impending death. Nevertheless, the three friends soldier on, heading towards California to meet with Poseidon. On their way, they're intercepted by Ares, the god of war, who offers his assistance if Percy and Annabeth successfully recover his shield from the defunct theme park Waterland. After a frightening run-in with Hephaestus's rigged golden throne, the pair escapes with Ares's shield. Keeping up his end of the bargain, Ares offers the adventurers a trip westward in a truck bound for the Lotus Casino, where Hermes awaits, ready to assist them.

In the last few moments of the episode, Grover, who had been held as collateral with Ares, shares that his conversations with the the god of war have yielded a revelatory bit of information. Grover knows who really stole the Master Bolt. And now, it's up to our three heroes to retrieve it.

What does the rest of their journey hold? You’ll have to tune in to find out.