Percy Jackson and the Olympians scores early high praise from TV critics… though some claim it lacks the magic of franchises like Harry Potter

Nearly two decades after Rick Riordan first published his Percy Jackson novel series, the beloved character and his friends are coming to live again in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV series.

The books were first brought to life in two films, 2010’s Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Theif and 2013’s Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters.

The films starred Logan Lerman as the title character, who learns he’s a demi-god – half human and half Greek god, the son of Poseidon.

Alexandra Daddario also starred as Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, and Brandon T. Jackson as his best friend Grover Underwood, a mystical satyr.

The first wave of reviews are in from the critics at Rotten Tomatoes, which are quite positive at 96%, though the few naysayers claim it doesn’t possess the same sort of magic as a franchise like Harry Potter.

The show casts actors who are much closer in age than the characters in the book, who are supposed to be 12 years old.

14-year-old Walker Scobell plays Percy Jackson, while 14-year-old Leah Jeffries plays Annabeth and 17-year-old Aryan Simhadri plays Grover, with the younger casting praised by Variety‘s Aramide Tinubu.

‘Unlike the Percy Jackson films, which aged the characters up, launching the show with younger actors spotlights a unique period while establishing a solid framework that will allow the story to expand as the leading trio ages,’ Tinubu said.

Collider‘s Chase Hutchinson claimed in his review, ‘For the first time, the lightning in a bottle that was the simple yet sturdy series of books has actually been captured on screen.’

Still, others weren’t quite as convinced, like USA Today‘s Kelly Lawler, who mentioned both films managed to disappoint both fans and author Riordan himself… while posting underwhelming numbers at the box office.

Lawler was one of just two critics to give the series a negative review in the first wave, stating that casting younger actors was a misstep.

‘It also doesn’t help that at times the young actors, while talented, lack the full range of abilities and nuance to create emotional depth in some of their scenes (they are not alone, just go back and watch the early Harry Potter movies).’

She also added that the famous faces serving in cameo appearances such as Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hermes and Megan Mullally as a fury, ‘does little to help this other than distract.’

Still, Lawler admitted in her review (two stars out of four) that the young stars ‘have found more of a rhythm’ by the fourth episode. 

Polygon‘s Petrana Radulovic praises Walker Scobell, adding he, ‘captures Percy in all his snarkiness, but also his unflinching devotion to the people he cares about.’

She also praised Aryan Simhadri for his, ‘phenomenal job with Grover, a character that could simply be comedic relief, but in this version gets a deep vulnerability and almost awkward earnestness.’

Radulovic admitted, ‘We don’t see much of Leah Jeffries’ Annabeth in the first two episodes, but in those brief scenes she already conveys the character’s quiet strength.’

The only other negative review in the first wave was from Slant Magazine’s Dan Rubins, who said the show is, ‘Largely missing from the series is the coherent world-building and quicksilver pacing of the novels.’

Still, Rubins admitted, ‘If fans are seeking nothing but fidelity, they’ll find a faithful outline here. And the plot points, at least based on the four episodes made available to press for review, map neatly onto the novel.’