Percy Jackson Stars Talk Showrunners, Grover’s Adventure, and Series Insights
Disney+’s “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series, which premiered in 2023, is the second screen adaptation of the ongoing Rick Riordan fantasy book series, and if critical reception is anything to go by, it’s the one that does the source material proud. The first season has been widely acclaimed, and the first two episodes of Season 2 (both seasons have eight episodes each) are out now. With the series burgeoning so beautifully, the six main cast members have little but praise for their roles and experiences.
An Adaptation by a Caring, Conscientious Team
“Percy Jackson & the Olympians” is a fantasy franchise that takes place in a modern setting, but centers around a latter-day, teenaged demigod (Percy Jackson himself) whose semi-divine identity earns him a place at the Dionysus-run training facility of Camp Half-Blood. This depiction of Greco-Roman mythology against a present-day backdrop blesses the Disney+ series, in which Percy is played by Walker Scobell (“The Adam Project”), with such attention-grabbing episode titles as “I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher” and “A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers.”
On December 7, the show’s five principal actors – Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, Aryan Simhadri, Dior Goodjohn, Charlie Bushnell, and Daniel Diemer – sat down with Bleeding Cool to talk about their feelings and experiences in regard to the imminent Season 2 and the series as a whole.
The cast began this interview on a note of high praise for the showrunners, Dan Shotz and Jonathan E. Steinberg. Scobell recalled: “Oh, they did a great job… They try to make sure that everything makes sense and that we don’t do anything that doesn’t make sense or for no reason”. “Amazing,” Bushnell affirmed. Goodjohn commended them for how “They did such a good job of making sure that we felt taken care of and that… anything new was doing the story a service, not a disservice.”
Season 2: The Cast Splits Up, But It’s “the Same, but Different.”
One of the most notable events of “Percy Jackson”‘s Season 1 finale, “The Prophecy Comes True,” was the departure of the satyr Grover Underwood (Simhadri), who set out in search of Pan. As a result, in the early part (at least) of Season 2, Simhadri’s scenes are separate from those of his co-stars. Jeffries described the transition as a smooth one for her: “Even though Aryan’s not there, and he was there in the beginning and now… it’s kind of the same because it’s still two boys and one girl… I lose my guy, I gain a guy, but it’s like there are still guys. That sounds right. The same, but different.” “So identical,” Diemer added.
Simhadri himself admitted to feeling some slight discomfort at this adjustment. “It was,” he said, “very weird to be aware of everything that was going on, but not a part of it. It feels like in Phineas and Ferb, how Ferb never talks, but he’s still a main character… like Grover’s always being discussed, but he’s not actually there.” And he added: “I genuinely did miss Walker and Leah.”
Simhadri’s emotional connection to his co-stars, whom he called “very close friends in real life”, created a symmetry with the experience of his character, who is also isolated from his closest friends. “I didn’t really have to act much to kind of believe that,” he explained. He singled out Bushnell and Tamara Smart (who has joined the show for Season 2) as “incredible actors. It was like watching a master class.”
Conclusion
All in all, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” seems to have the kind of behind-the-scenes dynamic that every production should aspire to: a working environment that is at once productive, efficient, and supportive in an almost familial way. As it heads into its sophomore season, it’s a real treat to learn that the people making the series are having as rewarding an experience as the people watching it.
Season 2 of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” premieres on Disney+ on December 10.
