Every so often, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” seems to be tiptoeing towards having some spikier sense of humor at its core. The episode titles seem playful and unexpectedly deadpan, such as “I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom” and “We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium.” And the very fact that folks like Mantzoukas or Mullally have been cast in recurring roles implies a desire for this show to not feel stultifying or turgid. But the humor comes sparingly, as when Grover tries to placate Annabeth and Percy in one episode with a goofy song or when one of the aforementioned adult performers is introduced by humming along to the theme from the Dudley Moore comedy “Arthur.” These brief moments feel like oases in a desert, unfortunately.
The show surrounding these bits is moderately involving, but never quite so well-paced as it should be. (Especially since the first four episodes range between just 33 and 43 minutes long, including end credits.) “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” wants to structure its episodes around Percy getting to encounter one god after another, such as Echidna or Medusa, but centering each installment on these action-packed meetings means that there’s slow movement at the beginning and end. It’s also difficult — even for those of us who only know the world of Percy Jackson from the Fox films of the 2010s — to not watch this show and wonder how much extra ground truly needed to be covered by having a TV adaptation. It’s not that this show is bad per se, as much as it feels like a remake of something that a) didn’t need to be remade and b) doesn’t seem to be doing things that much differently on the small screen.
When “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief” opened in 2010, it was easy for non-readers to look at the film as a “Harry Potter” retread. As a TV adaptation, the similarities are certainly a lot less notable. Now, as a Disney+ series, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is almost a preview of what a potential “Harry Potter” TV series, as threatened by David Zaslav of Warner Bros. Discovery, may look like. It’s true that books often end up being trimmed to the bone when adapted for the big screen. But if this show is any evidence, it’s perhaps true that trimming a larger story down to its most crucial parts is the right way to go. This show may yet win an audience, but feels like a somewhat dull echo of the film that preceded it by a decade.
/Film Rating: 5 out of 10
“Percy Jackson and the Olympians” premieres December 20, 2023 on Disney+.