The new Percy Jackson Disney series is all the rage, and there’s been a lot of developments and news about it, from Rick Riordan slamming the old movies to fans learning more about Lance Reddick, the late actor who played Zeus in season one of the show.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians have made many Disney fans and Percy Jackson fans very happy. The new show features Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson, Leah Jeffries as Annabeth Chase, and Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood, and has proven wildly successful.

New Percy Jackson Show Premiere Surpasses 26 Million Since Disney+ and Hulu Debut

As Deadline reported, the new Percy Jackson TV show has more than demonstrated its quality and popularity with fans. Since its debut on Hulu and Disney+, the show’s first episode has amassed 26.2M views in its first three weeks on the streaming platforms, per data from the company.

In addition, Disney also added that the first five episodes have surpassed 10 million views in their first week on the platform. It’s an incredible accomplishment for the new Percy Jackson TV show, and is one that is unsurprising to many a Percy Jackson fan and Disney fan.

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Even Rick Riordan Prefers the Show Over the Movies

The show has proved to fans that it’s going to be faithful to the books and give the series the kind of production fans will be happy about. This also aligns with the fact that the series was co-created by Rick Riordan himself.

Interestingly, Riordan doesn’t shy away from distancing the show from the movie, which starred Logan Lerman. In a post on Threads on January 16, Riordan addressed the scene where Percy, Annabeth, and Grover go to the casinos in Vegas. He wrote, “Can’t wait to visit the Lotus Casino tonight in Percy Jackson 106! Iris-messaging, animals run amok, Hermes and much much more!”

He added, taking a shot at the movie, “(Side note: as much as I love Lady Gaga, if some of you seriously think I’d allow any callbacks to certain movies, you haven’t been paying attention for the last decade. The show is its own thing. And imo [in my opinion] it’s so much better!)”

Related: Is a New Release Causing Audiences to Set Up Parental Controls on Disney+?

Percy Jackson Episode Six Introduces a Brand New Character, Fans Curious About Zeus

Episode six just came out this week and it introduced a brand-new character who is unique to the television show.

Who is Augustus in Percy Jackson?

Grover encounters Augustus—an older Satyr played by Ted Dykstra—at the Lotus Hotel and Casino. The character adds more context and complexity to Grover’s storyline. Since Augustus has embarked on a quest to find Pan, his presence offers a fresh perspective on Grover’s family, community, and background.

His presence fleshes out Grover as a character more, considering we learn more about him and get to see more of his feelings about his Uncle Ferdinand.

Fans Wonder About Zeus, Played by Lance Reddick

As we progress through the show, many have also become more curious about the actor who played Zeus in season one of the show: the late Lance Reddick.

The actor passed unexpectedly in March but has been celebrated and honored by producer Dan Shotz, who has only fond memories of working with the actor.

Shotz commented, “It was an incredible experience with him. We miss him dearly, and I think the thing that I look back most [on] is his connection to the kids. Showing up as his Zeus, the kids were intimidated. Not only because it’s Lance Reddick, but also this character that’s been built up all season; seeing him and how powerful he is.”

New episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians drop on Disney+ on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET.