Percy Jackson and the Olympians executive producer Becky Riordan says she “hated” Daredevil: Born Again — so much that she couldn’t get through a single episode — though she admits she can’t remember exactly what it was she hated.
The comments came on Threads back in May when a fan asked whether she and author Rick Riordan had watched the show’s second season, praising its visuals and fight choreography as “a step up from season 1” and asking whether Percy Jackson Season 3 improves in similar ways.
Becky Riordan responded:
“Rick has seen one. Don’t know about two. I loved the original series and was so excited for this show and then couldn’t even get through one episode. Don’t remember what I hated. The phrase self-absorb comes to mind but that may not be it. Super hero movies can get that way though.”
“I Loved The Original Series”
So to recap: she loved the original Netflix series, was excited for the revival, watched one episode, hated it, and bailed. The only word she can come up with is “self-absorb,” with the caveat that it “may not be it.” Whatever the issue was, it was bad enough to kill the show for her, but still vague enough that she apparently can’t even name it a year later.
Her reaction mirrors a divide that has followed Born Again since before it premiered: fans of the original Netflix Daredevil — widely considered one of the best comic book shows ever made — going in excited for the Disney+ revival and bouncing off it.
Notably, the show underwent a well-documented creative overhaul mid-production, which Cosmic Book News first reported on before it was confirmed by the trades.
She’s not exactly swimming against the data, either. Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 went 0-for-17 on Nielsen’s weekly charts, with even the finale failing to register, a stark contrast to the Netflix era she says she loved. Marvel, for its part, is betting on The Defenders to turn things around in Season 3.
Why She Brought It Up: Keeping Percy Jackson “Grounded”
Interestingly, Riordan used the superhero comparison to defend a creative choice that Percy Jackson fans have spent two seasons criticizing:
“Why I fought for Percy not to become a magical makeover story. Jon, Rick, Dan, and I used the word grounded (in the real world) a lot. Say what you will but it gave us a sturdy foundation to build off of for 2 and 3.”
“Jon” and “Dan” would be co-showrunners Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Shotz. The “say what you will” is doing a lot of work there, fans have said plenty, with the most common Season 1 and 2 complaint being that the gods and monsters feel diminished and the fantasy elements muted.
Disney’s own platform categorizes the series under Kids & Family/Fantasy/Action/Adventure, and it’s billed everywhere as a fantasy adventure series, the genre the producer is now saying she fought to rein in.
The timing of the glass-house moment doesn’t help: Riordan’s own show just saw its Season 2 finale miss the Nielsen Top 10 entirely while she insists Percy did “exceptionally well”, and told adult fans she’s “honestly surprised” they want to watch at all.
