Hulu, Disney+ to Premiere First Episode of ‘Percy Jackson’ Simultaneously as Services Draw Closer Together

The gods are descending from Olympus, and they’re gracing both Disney+ and Hulu with their presence. Disney has announced the first episode of its upcoming series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” will debut simultaneously on both streaming services.

• The first episode of “Percy Jackson” is set to debut on Wednesday, Dec. 20.
• The episode will be available on both Disney+ and Hulu until Jan. 31.
• As Hulu content is now available on Disney+, there will likely be many more such simultaneous premieres on the two services going forward.

Percy Jackson Comes to Hulu

“Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is a Disney+ Original series, based on the young adult novel series by Rick Riordan. The show follows young Percy in his quest across America, battling gods and monsters to return Zeus’s master bolt before it falls into the wrong hands.

The series is set to debut a two-episode premiere on Wednesday, Dec. 20, with one episode per week to follow. The first of those two episodes will also be available on Hulu on the same day and will continue to stream on both platforms until Jan. 31, 2024.

Check Out a Trailer for ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’:

Is Dual Premiere of ‘Percy Jackson’ a Sign of Things to Come?

Debuting pilot episodes of new series on multiple platforms is nothing new for Disney. However, its most recent moves in that regard have involved sending episodes of its streaming originals to linear channels. For example, the company aired the series premiere of “The Mandalorian” on ABC, Freeform and FX before rolling out the third season on Disney+ earlier this year. It’s notable that the “Percy Jackson” premiere is only coming out on the two streaming platforms, and none of Disney’s linear channels as previous releases have done.

But now that Disney+ has brought on a wide selection of content from Hulu, users can expect more shows to debut on both platforms going forward. For one thing, Disney wants to draw more attention to the fact that Hulu and Disney+ titles are now available on a single app, and such cross-promotions are the perfect way to spread word of mouth.

The services could become much more closely integrated in the future, as well. A recent report found that the combined libraries of Disney+ and Hulu would have more popular titles than even Netflix, which would be crucial for a company with as many financial streaming troubles as Disney has had.

The closer alignment of Disney’s streaming brands will lead to less friction for customers who want to enjoy content from both Disney+ and Hulu. The simultaneous premiere of “Percy Jackson” on Disney+ and Hulu is clearly in service of that goal and will help build awareness of the fact that Hulu content is now available on Disney+.