Percy Jackson and the Olympians creators Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Shotz have locked in a new project at ABC with a pilot order for an American adaptation of BBC’sLudwig, which airs on BritBox in the United States. What does this mean for the future ofPercy Jackson? Steinberg gave us an update in our recent interview for ourPercy Jackson Season 3 cover story.
Steinberg and Shotz are executive producers on the ABC remake calledRabbit. It follows a similar premise to Ludwig, but it’s set in Cambridge, Massachusetts, instead of England. The main character, Mark, is a solitary puzzle writer who works under the name of Rabbit. Mark infiltrates the police department while searching for his missing homicide detective brother. His uncanny ability to crack seemingly impossible cases soon makes him an unlikely crime-solving sensation.
Rabbit is written and executive produced byMythic Quest creator Megan GanzandHumphrey Ker, alongside fellow executive producers Steinberg, Shotz, Ludwig starDavid Mitchell, Mark Brotherhood, and Kenton Allen. Steinberg says that Ganz and Ker are “amazing” and that he and Shotz wanted to help the series get made, but that it won’t impact their time commitments for Percy Jackson.
“That one just came because we love that show so much,” Steinberg tells TV Insider. “We wanted to try to help figure out how to get it from here to there. It’s just charming, and I don’t know that there’s enough of that on TV right now. So, that was where that came from. But no, that won’t affect Percy at all.”
We point out thatPercy Jackson is about kids with ADHD and dyslexia, and viewers enjoy that Ludwig‘s main character is autism-coded.
“We just really like characters you can fall in love with quickly,” Steinberg says, “and I guess the last couple have been that, but I think there’s a goodheartedness to both of them that creates some space where you can tell why we’d be attracted to both.”
Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 3 comes out on Friday, November 20, with two episodes coming out weekly through December 11. As of the time of writing, the series has not yet been renewed for Season 4.Ludwig Season 2 is currently in season on BritBox. The finale comes out November 17, and Ludwig Season 3 development is already underway.
In the charming British mystery, puzzle setter John “Ludwig” Taylor’s (David Mitchell) identical twin, DCI James Taylor, disappears. John assumes his identity to track him down, realizing that crimes are just big puzzles waiting to be solved.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Season 3 Premiere, Friday, November 20, Disney+ and Hulu
Ludwig, Season 2, Tuesdays, BritBox