Percy Jackson and the Olympians was an instant hit when it arrived in 2022. Soon, the second season will debut on Disney+ and Hulu. When it does, Disney promises that the series will be making an even “bigger splash.”

Rick Riordan‘s bestselling book series has inspired the series, which has received a 95% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes® and won eight Children and Family Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Young Teen Series. According to Nielson*, it is also one of the top five most-watched original series across all streaming platforms after its launch in December 2023. Disney shared the following about this series ahead of the arrival of the second season:

“We were all blown away by how well it did,” said Riordan, who co-created and executive produces the series. “The underlying premise of Greek mythology is always popular, but it’s just a fun story, too. There are not many other shows that you can sit down to watch with your family where everyone likes it: the parents like it, the teens like it, and the kids like it.”

Walker Scobell, who plays the titular character, said the show’s appeal is simple: “I think the reason so many people watch is because there’s somebody for everyone to relate to.” Aryan Simhadri, who plays the satyr Grover, agreed, saying, “Greek mythology inherently was made to reflect humans and the struggles we all go through in larger-than-life ways.”

According to co-creator and executive producer Jon Steinberg, “That was the goal from the beginning: to tell this story in a way that isn’t just universal in its themes, but in its experience and in its emotional impact. The fact that families are watching it together —and are then watching it together again — is an indication that we got close to the mark.”

And the positive response to Season 1 was instantaneous. On social, the #percyjackson hashtag earned over 1 billion views** on TikTok in the U.S. in the first month of its first season run, while series-owned social handles amassed a cumulative 4.6 million followers.

“I saw a crazy statistic [about the first season],” said Charlie Bushnell, who plays Luke Castellan, the demigod son of Hermes. “It had like 3 billion minutes streamed*** [in 2024]. I did the math, and that breaks down to about 6,000 years, which is insane to think about.”

Deep Bench

Based on The Sea of Monsters, the second book in Riordan’s series, Season 2 premieres Wednesday, December 10, with two episodes on Disney+ and Hulu, with a new episode rolling out weekly through January 21, 2026. After Camp Half-Blood’s protective border is breached, Percy Jackson (Scobell) embarks on an epic odyssey into the Sea of Monsters in search of his best friend, the satyr Grover Underwood (Aryan Simhadri), and the one thing that may save the camp — the legendary Golden Fleece. Aided by demigods Annabeth Chase (Leah Sava Jeffries) and Clarisse La Rue (Dior Goodjohn), along with his cyclops half-brother Tyson (Daniel Diemer), Percy’s survival becomes the key to preventing Luke and the Titan Kronos from bringing down Camp Half-Blood — and, ultimately, Olympus.

“Season 1 started with the three [lead characters], Percy, Grover, and Annabeth. They went on an epic journey together and met amazing, iconic characters,” executive producer Dan Shotz said. “The books are written in first person, so you’re seeing everything through Percy’s eyes. In this medium, we get to step outside of that. We get to be with Clarisse, we get to be with Luke — we get to expand the entire world. I think that’s going to be really exciting for audiences, because they will be able to invest more in all of these characters’ arcs rather than just hearing from one POV. We took advantage of all those opportunities.”

“I can’t wait to see the entire thing come to life,” Jeffries said. “We have so many different characters now, and even though you saw Charlie and Dior’s characters in the first season, you’ll get to see them so much more, and we also have Daniel. They did a phenomenal job.”

Clarisse, for example, goes on a quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece from the Sea of Monsters — and her expedition forces her to team up with Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson.

“She believes that ‘second is the first to lose’ — that if you do anything with help, you didn’t actually do it,” Goodjohn said. “It’s beautiful to see her say, ‘I’m just going to be honest and open and vulnerable with somebody for once. I’ll talk to Percy and make a genuine connection.’ You see her grow and develop and learn that it’s okay to ask for help.”

Luke, meanwhile, is on a quest to usher in what he calls “a golden age for demigods.” Having betrayed Percy in Season 1, Bushnell said, “He definitely has a new demeanor about him. He’s much more of a confident, charismatic guy this season… He’s definitely on a quest for freedom and liberation for himself, but also for everyone else. He’s still holding onto hope that in an ideal world, Percy, Annabeth, and every demigod [will join his movement].”

Tyson is a kind and gentle giant, but make no mistake: “With all his strengths, he’s pretty dangerous,” Diemer said. “Along the quest — especially as they get into bigger fights — Tyson gets specific opportunities to save everybody because of how soft and loving he is.”

Bigger and Bolder

Season 2 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians ups the stakes exponentially.

For example, Sea of Monsters reintroduces chariot races at Camp Half-Blood — a huge endeavor that necessitated nearly two weeks of filming. “Right from the top, you go, ‘All right! We need horses! We need a chariot! We need kids to do death-defying stunts!’” Shotz said. “It was a tall order, but everybody rallied. We have an incredible stunt team. All of it was done practically; no CG horses were used. I think it made it feel more visceral and alive. That was one of the biggest sets any of us have ever worked on. It’s like six or seven minutes of the episode, and I think we shot it over 13 days. But it was worth it, because it’s such a signature moment and we knew that fans were going to be desperate for that piece.”

As a longtime fan of the novels, Scobell was especially looking forward to filming an epic battle involving a sunken warship that Ares raises from the depths of the sea. “I’m really excited for people to see the Ironclad sequence,” Scobell said. “That whole fight versus Scylla and Charybdis is so huge — and they made it even bigger than the book somehow!”

And no one’s happier than Riordan to see these sequences translated for television.

“The production team is good-naturedly cursing me every season,” he said. “They’re like, ‘You didn’t make it easy! Every book is more involved than the one before.’ And it’s true. Everyone is upping the stakes, upping the level of spectacle. All I can tell you is that the team rose to the challenge. They said, ‘Let’s get under the hood and figure out how to make this happen.’ And boy, they did! They did make everything bigger. Everything is faster, more epic, and more cinematic.”

While he was “excited to see the big spectacles” come to life, Riordan confessed, “What I found myself enjoying the most is the character work — the quieter moments when we have Percy and Annabeth and they’re in a shipwreck. They’re exhausted, they’re feeling defeated, and [you see] the way they support each other and get to know each other and trust each other. Those are some of the most interesting, sweetest moments. I love those.”

And in Season 3 — which is currently in production in Vancouver — the action will get bigger and the stakes will get more personal. “Talk about expansion of characters!” executive producer Craig Silverstein laughed. “Season 2 almost feels small in comparison.”

*Source: Nielsen, Live Streaming Content Ratings Connected TV only; 12/19/23 – 2/4/24 with reach based on 1 min qualifier; series rankings based on week start date of 12/18/23-2/4/24

**Source: TikTok for Business

*** Source: Luminate Film & TV’s 2024 Year-End Report