Netflix’s best new show this week has a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score, but interestingly, it’s on load from Disney+.
Disney
This article was published on 10/5 and republished on 10/7.
Streaming licensing deals are interesting, as they end up producing some crossovers that are most unexpected. Many of these occur on Netflix thanks to its enormous content budget. We’ve seen things like AMC’s entire Walking Dead library head there, or HBO classics like Band of Brothers, Six Feet Under and Sex and the City. Here, however, we have a Disney+ show, and one that’s still airing. And it has a stellar Rotten Tomatoes score.
No, Disney wasn’t about to hand over one of its Star Wars or Marvel shows to Netflix, nor its children’s crown jewel, Bluey. Rather, this is Percy Jackson and the Olympians, a 95% Rotten Tomatoes-scored series that has run for two seasons so far, with season 3 premiering on November 20. Netflix has gotten the license to the first two 8-episode seasons.
You might be able to see Disney’s strategy there, as appearing on a larger streaming service could increase the numbers for season 3. Ideally, they went to get through all the source material books. Like many Netflix shows, Percy Jackson season 2 viewership decreased significantly from season 1, a 63% drop. That might have even been lower, as it included rewatches of season 1. Once again, spacing between seasons is credited as a big culprit, as it was almost 2 years between seasons 1 and 2 of Percy Jackson, but this time around, it’s much closer to just a single year between 2 and 3. Still, it’s not the cheapest of shows with all its VFX, and it’s clear Disney needs to boost its fortunes. Maybe this is a way.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Rotten Tomatoes
Here’s the synopsis of the series if you aren’t familiar with the show or books:
“Percy Jackson is on a dangerous quest. Outrunning monsters and outwitting gods, he must journey across America to return Zeus’ master bolt and stop an all-out war. With the help of his quest mates Annabeth and Grover, Percy’s journey will lead him closer to the answers he seeks: how to fit into a world where he feels out of place, and find out who he’s destined to be.”
Before the Disney+ show, there were two Percy Jackson movies in 2010 and 2013, which made $223 million and $202 million at the global box office. But ultimately, further films were scrapped as the studio believed the trendline wasn’t great, both in terms of decreased sales and neither film being terribly well-received by critics or fans. Those films had Rotten Tomatoes critic scores of 48% and 43% respectively, with audience scores not much higher. Compared to the Disney+ series, a 95% is a huge improvement. However, both are having issues with audience retention. We’ll see if the Netflix loaner idea pans out.
Update (10/7): Well, things do not seem to be going great in terms of sparking interest in the first two seasons of Percy Jackson by putting it on Netflix. Checking back in a few days later, Percy Jackson and the Olympians has not charted on the Netflix top 10 list in the US, which is populated mainly be shows that have been there a while like Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story and Murder in a Small Town. The licensed shows doing well are the likes of All American adding its eighth season, a show that has always done well when features on Netflix. There is also Mayor of Kingstown, the popular Taylor Sheridan series that has been borrowed from Paramount+ and is currently at #4 on the top 10 list, a great performance.
East of Eden has been knocked down to second by a new comedy special from Mojo Brookzz, but it did win last week in terms of total streaming hours. It’s possible that if Mayor of Kingstown keeps rising, it could surpass the Netflix original in a few days. Tusla King, the other Sheridan show now on Netflix, is not on the chart at all.
We will see if intersting in Percy Jackson rises, but so far it’s not looking good.
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