A very old and familiar tale gets a makeover in the mythic adventure series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” streaming today on Disney+. When we first meet Percy (Walker Scobell), he’s basically a crazy, mixed-up kid. He’s at the bottom of the social ladder at his fancy prep school and often picked on by his peers.
He’s what you might call a dreamer, given to visions of dragons and monsters on New York’s mean streets. This gets him sent to the principal’s office and even a psychiatrist.
Of course, we eventually learn that Percy isn’t having the vivid hallucinations of a budding psychotic. He’s actually a demigod, descended from his regular ol’ mom and a Greek god she met on the beach — on Long Island, of all places.
Percy’s hero’s journey first takes him to a kind of summer camp/Hogwarts for those descended from Olympians. He discovers that his friend Grover (Aryan Simhadri) is actually some kind of satyr and a beloved teacher is really a centaur.
This being a Disney production, “Percy” blends the mythic awe of monster fighting with the wise-cracking patter of precocious ‘tweendom.
The pilot episode ladles on a lot of needless explanations. How depressed is Percy’s mortal mom (Virginia Kull)? She’s the kind of person who sits out on the fire escape in a rainstorm listening to Adele. She’s got a good reason. She’s married to a rude slob whom she chose only because his bad hygiene masks her son’s demigodly aroma. Makes sense, I guess.
Presumably the audience for this is well familiar with both “Star Wars” and “Superman,” not to mention Harry Potter and other tales, all variations on Arthurian legends and the New Testament. “Percy” takes nearly 40 minutes to relate an origin story that might have been told in the opening credits.
Sometimes I blame this plodding narrative style on the need to show off expensive digital wizardry. Other times it just seems that the storytellers underestimate their audiences’ intelligence — and their impatience to proceed to the exciting bits.
Just last week, Disney announced that the first two episodes of “Percy Jackson” would also stream on Hulu through Dec. 31. Presumably, this little appetizer might entice fans to sign up for the Disney+ platform as well. Hulu and Disney+ are combining in the coming year.
So far, the combined service has been called “Hulu on Disney+.” So, what will that make “FX on Hulu”? In a business culture besotted with branding, some streaming services are becoming a mouthful. For the record, Showtime isn’t Showtime anymore. It’s Paramount+ With Showtime. Help yourself.
— In the 2023 documentary “Daniel” (9 p.m., HBO, TV-PG), an ambitious young boy sets out to document his life on video camera and then, as a young man, becomes a traveler and collector of exotic experiences. His efforts to document his years takes an unexpected twist when he’s given a grim medical diagnosis.
— Following its theatrical release, Netflix streams the Leonard Bernstein biopic “Maestro,” starring Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— “Barry Manilow’s A Very Barry Christmas” (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG).
— The voices of Josh Gad and Kristen Bell animate “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
— Pluto gets goofy in the 2022 special “Mickey Saves Christmas” (8:30 p.m., ABC, TV-G).
— “Christmas at the Opry” (9 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG).
— “The Great Christmas Light Fight” (9 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG) glances back at its most illuminating moments.
— “CMA Country Christmas” (10 p.m., ABC, r TV-PG).
CULT CHOICE
A decadent family facing bankruptcy takes in a has-been actor (Joseph Schildkraut) over the holidays in a charitable pose made only to impress a possible wealthy benefactor in the 1945 holiday comedy “The Cheaters” (9:45 p.m., TCM, TV-G). Like a lot of low-budget movies that fell into public domain (including “It’s a Wonderful Life”) from the 1950s forward, this film was shown in heavy rotation as a TV movie repeat, particularly around Christmastime. Billie Burke (“The Wizard of Oz”) also stars.
SERIES NOTES
A winner emerges on the season finale of “Survivor” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … Four perform on the season finale of “The Masked Singer” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Jimmy Fallon welcomes Jon Hamm, Glen Powell and Chloe Flower & the Roots on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Adam Driver and Gary Gulman visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC).
