Blood of Zeus

Blood of Zeus, formerly known as Gods & Heroes, is an American adult animated fantasy action television series created and written by Charley and Vlas Parlapanides for Netflix. Produced by Powerhouse Animation Studios with the animation outsourced to South Korean studios Mua Film and Hanho Heung-Up, the series was released on October 27, 2020, on Netflix.

In early December 2020, Netflix renewed the show for a second season, which was released on May 10, 2024. According to the creators, they have five seasons outlined.

Premise
Set in mythical ancient Greece, the series revolves around Heron, the demigod son of Zeus, trying to save Olympus and Earth. Though Heron himself is an original character created exclusively for the series, the existence of such demigods born of the union between a god and a human is implied to be common in the original myths. The series claims in its prologue to be one of the tales "lost to history" rather than part of the current canon of Greek myths. It features gods, giants, demons, automata, titans, and mythical mounts from the original tales.

Main

 * Derek Phillips as Heron
 * Jessica Henwick as Alexia
 * Mamie Gummer as Electra, Heron's mother
 * Jason O'Mara as Zeus / Elias
 * Claudia Christian as Hera and Chrysanthe
 * Elias Toufexis as Seraphim
 * Chris Diamantopoulos as Poseidon and Evios
 * Adetokumboh M'Cormack as Kofi (season 2; supporting season 1)
 * Fred Tatasciore as Hades and Aratus Theogonis (season 2; supporting season 1)
 * Lara Pulver as Persephone (season 2)
 * Cissy Jones as Demeter and Iris (season 2)

Supporting

 * Melina Kanakaredes as Ariana (season 1)
 * Adam Croasdell as Apollo and Hephaestus
 * Danny Jacobs as King Periander and King Acrisius
 * Matt Lowe as Ares
 * Matthew Mercer as Hermes and Alexia's father
 * Vanessa Marshall as Ariana's sister and Hestia
 * David Shaughnessy as Chiron and Dionysus (season 1)
 * Jennifer Hale as Clotho, Alexia's Mother, Artemis, Lachesis and Atropos
 * Sarah Elmaleh as Athena (season 2)
 * Jean Gilpin as Gaia (season 2)
 * Dustin Harnish as Walla (season 2)
 * Courtenay Taylor as Hecate (season 2)
 * JB Blanc as Rhadamanthus (season 2)
 * Kari Wahlgren as Melinoë (season 2)
 * Julie Nathanson as Aphrodite (season 2)
 * Rachel Rosenbloom as Gorgo (season 2)

Reception
For the series, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes collected 21 reviews for Season 1 and identified 100% of them as positive, with an average rating of 8.14/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Reforging Greek mythology as an epic battle royale with slick imagery and sterling voice acting, Blood of Zeus earns a spot on the Mount Olympus of action animation." Inverse.com called the series "Netflix's best American anime yet", while IGN gave it a 9/10 score. In a posting summarizing an interview on her podcast with the show's creators, Kate Sánchez argued that the series offers a "nuanced take on anger and how it relates to power" and noted how the series is part of the "continuing trend of adult animation." The New York Times also praised the show, calling it, "special and dazzling" comparing it to the HBO series Game of Thrones. Collider ranked Blood of Zeus #2 in its Top Ten Mythology Shows, second only to the History Channel’s Vikings. Blood of Zeus fared better than the Norwegian series Ragnarok, Starz's American Gods and Outlander, among other shows. YardBarker called it one of the most extraordinary recent offerings in the dark fantasy and mythology genre, while Ranker named Blood of Zeus their #1 Greek mythology show. The show’s musical score was nominated for an Annie Award for Best Music in 2021.

Season 2 of Blood of Zeus was released on May 10, 2024 and currently has 13 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and is also at 100% Fresh. The website's critics consensus reads, "Blood of Zeus's long-awaited second season steps down from Olympus to explore Greek myth's underworld, finding even more compelling lore and emotional texture than before." The season has been universally lauded by Rotten Tomato critics. Marilo Delgado of Espinof wrote, “Blood of Zeus once again proves that it is one of the most entertaining animated series available.” She gave the show’s second season a 4.5/5 score. Some critics have said that Season 2 surpassed the creative heights of the first season. This includes Daniel Kurland, who wrote, “Blood of Zeus’ first season was a fascinating dissection of not just Greek mythology, but demystifying the larger-than-life figures who are the basis from so much of modern culture’s mythology and storytelling. This season would have been a masterpiece in and of itself with the places that it visits and where it’s willing to push its characters. That being said, Blood of Zeus’ second season pushes all this to such greater heights and makes its freshman season feel like a warm-up and schoolyard fable in comparison to what’s on display this year.” Kate Sanchez, from BUT WHY THO? wrote, “With fantastic animation that captures epic action moments and emotional character growth that goes far beyond expectations, Blood of Zeus Season 2 is near perfect.” She gave the show a 9.5/10 score in her review while Britany Murphy from Muses of Media gave the Second Season a 4.5/5 score and wrote, “The much-anticipated second season of Blood of Zeus has finally graced our screens, and it’s a magnificent continuation of the divine drama that captured our attention in the first season.” Other critics have noted the importance of the show’s creators, Charley and Vlas Parlapanides and how their Greek background infused the show with a certain degree of authenticity. This includes Black Nerd Problems critic Frantz Jerome who wrote, “What Blood of Zeus brought to the table from its pilot in season one was something inherently Greek. Not just because the story employs Greek mythology, Percy Jackson does that, but with way less seasoning. No, Blood of Zeus deeply engages in the ethos of Greek society. Due in no small part to creators and showrunners, Charles and Vlas Parlapanides. In the age of AI “art” and culture-appropriating superstars, the authenticity of this show goes a long way. The kinds of decisions characters make, the direction of a plot, the design of a character – each of these things hinge on culture. This is still a rare occurrence in productions. Despite there being some very notable standout TV shows and movies (Jane The Virgin and Black Panther for instance) that utilize culture to ground their fiction in ways that are super relatable to audiences.”