Gen-Z’s Harry Potter?
Percy Jackson, Taylor Swift’s new album cover, that sports streaming bundle, Usher, and more
Percy Jackson
I’ve seen multiple outlets describe Percy Jackson & the Olympians—the book series following a demigod in a world in which Ancient Greek mythology is real—as Gen-Z’s Harry Potter. It’s an understandable comparison to make. Both follow a young boy who learns of a magical world and that he has some magical abilities and also has to fight a really evil, really powerful villain.
The problem with that comparison is that it overstates the generational gap between the two book series. The final Harry Potter books were released just as the Percy Jackson series was starting, meaning Percy Jackson fell squarely in the shadow of Harry Potter. The height of the boy demigod’s popularity—which was sizable, mind you, but not nearly the juggernaut of the boy wizard—seemed at the time like it would be only a blip, as most copycats are.
Percy Jackson has had surprising legs, though, as demonstrated by the long-demanded TV adaptation, the first season of which wrapped up last week.
The series had a tall order to fill for two reasons: (1) it needed to please both adults with nostalgia for being a child as well as actual children, and (2) it needed to be more faithful to the original book than the now-infamous 2010 movie adaptation.
On both accounts I’d say the first season, which follows the events of the first book, largely succeeded. The series is mostly faithful, only angering a handful of fans here and there with some minor, albeit understandable, plot deviations. It also successfully brings to life the world of Percy Jackson, particularly with genuinely impressive CGI and some top-notch casting for the gods. It’s as enjoyable watching as an adult with nostalgia as I imagine it would be to watch as a kid. (I am not a kid. If you are, please confirm.)
I have my qualms, to be sure. One of my favorite parts of reading the book series was how it weaves in Greek mythology, teaching the reader these stories that are just as entertaining as the actual plot along the way. The condensed nature of the TV series leaves little room for that, telling the audience only the details of myths they absolutely need to know. I would also agree with Elise Hannum, who wrote for The Atlantic that the TV series lacks the playfulness of the books in its tone.
Perhaps the biggest divergence from the book, though, is thematic. Many of the most important themes in the book series—namely, learning that the people we look up to are human—are introduced earlier on in the story, resolved by the end of the first season and generally fleshed out more.
That was actually a pleasant surprise in my watching, but it also leaves the series with a conundrum, now that it’s been renewed for a second season: Where does Percy Jackson go, thematically, from here? I’ll be interested to see.
The Tortured Album Covers Department
You may have heard that Taylor Swift announced her next album at the Grammy Awards ceremony on Sunday, revealing later as well its album cover, tracklist and general aesthetic.
Aesthetic is important in the Swift universe because for more than a decade, Ms. Swift has defined her distinct “eras” by their aesthetic. Revealing the album art, fonts, logos, color scheme, etc. is a teaser for the era to come.
As a result, the album cover and aesthetic for “The Tortured Poets Department” may be Ms. Swift’s most brilliant—and her most likely to backfire.
It is her most brilliant because it has just enough signifiers to seem suggestive of something, while not having enough signifiers to suggest anything specific. A fan can so easily project whatever they most hope the sonic palette for this album will be onto the album art.
(I suspect this is a course correction from her previous album, “Midnights,” which was promoted with a distinctly 70s aesthetic and then did not sound anything like the music of the 70s.)
It is her most likely to backfire for the same reason. If fans can project any sonic palette they want onto the aesthetic, most will guess incorrectly. Considering Ms. Swift has made a habit of not releasing any singles prior to the album’s release, I’d predict there will be some disappointment on April 19, even if the album is a return to form.
Bundles Galore!
(Not an insurance commercial)
On Tuesday, three giants in sports media—Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discover—announced their plans to group all of their sports content on one streaming service, which will launch this fall.
The announcement is a big deal, and understandably made a splash earlier this week. Overshadowed in the news, though, is one tiny detail: This isn’t actually a traditional streaming service, it’s just a bundle of channels.
Let me explain. Because none of these companies signed media rights deals that allow them to simply put individual matches online, the way this service will work is a lot like cable. After signing into the app, you pick one of the 14 channels these companies own, and you watch that channel linearly and live. That means that even some non-sports content, like the shows that air on ABC, can be watched live. It will also include ads.
This joint venture in many ways signals the slow death of cable. It is also, to be clear, pretty much just a reinvention of cable.
Considering how popular streaming bundles are becoming, alongside the rise of password-sharing crackdowns, it sure seems like cable is back and exactly the same as before.
What Else I’m Following
You might be thinking I lied last time when I said I’d be writing about the Truman Capote TV series for this edition. That’s sorta true—I decided to wait until more of the series had come out before talking about it. If you want to watch along and discuss with me, let me know.
The Superbowl is on Sunday and Usher is performing the halftime show. Since I wasn’t around for Usher’s imperial phase, I decided to study up. Check out this great episode of Pop Pantheon if you’d like to as well.
Kacey Musgraves and Maggie Rogers both dropped comeback singles yesterday. I like ‘em both.
I really liked this short piece about how Fortnite—not just a battle royale game anymore!—is sneakily winning the metaverse wars.
The Year of the Election continues: Read WPR’s Daily Review on this week’s votes in Azerbaijan and Pakistan, and subscribe to (probably) learn about Indonesia’s election next week.
That’s all for this week. See you in a fortnight (featuring Post Malone).