''Blood of Zeus'', formerly known as ''Gods & Heroes'', is an American

adult animated An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

streaming television series created and written by Charley and Vlas Parlapanides for

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

. Produced by

Powerhouse Animation Studios Powerhouse Animation Studios, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Austin, Texas. It was founded in April 2001 with a subsidiary called Powerhouse Animation LLC, established in summer of 2014. The company develops and produces traditiona ...

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. According to the creators, they have five seasons outlined.

Premise

Set in mythical ancient Greece, the series revolves around Heron, the

demigod A demigod or demigoddess is a part-human and part-divine offspring of a deity and a human, or a human or non-human creature that is accorded divine status after death, or someone who has attained the "divine spark" ( spiritual enlightenment). A ...

son of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek relig ...

, trying to save

Olympus Olympus or Olympos ( grc, Ὄλυμπος, link=no) may refer to: Mountains In antiquity Greece * Mount Olympus in Thessaly, northern Greece, the home of the twelve gods of Olympus in Greek mythology * Mount Olympus (Lesvos), located in Le ...

and

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...

. Though Heron-himself is an original character created exclusively for the show, 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 show claims in its prologue to be one of the tales "lost to history" rather, than passed down with our current canon of Greek myths. The show features

gods A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater ...

giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) *Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in Media (communication), media such as comics, video ...

automata An automaton (; plural: automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions.Automaton – Definition and More ...

, and mythical mounts from the original tales.

Voice cast

* Derek Phillips as Heron *

Jason O'Mara Jason O'Mara (born 6 August 1972) is an Irish actor. He has starred in the American television network dramas '' In Justice'', '' Life on Mars'', '' Terra Nova'', ''Vegas'', and ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.''. O'Mara won an Irish Film and Television ...

/Elias *

Claudia Christian Claudia Christian (born Claudia Ann Coghlan August 10, 1965) is an American actress, singer and author, known for her roles as Commander Susan Ivanova on '' Babylon 5'', as Captain Maynard on Fox's ''9-1-1'', and as the voice of Hera on the N ...

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...

Elias Toufexis Elias Toufexis is a Canadian actor. He has played characters on television and in video games, mostly in science fiction and fantasy genres. Career Acting Toufexis acted in small television roles at first, eventually playing Morton in the m ...

Seraph A seraph (, "burning one"; plural seraphim ) is a type of celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism. The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Tradition places seraphim in the highest rank in Christ ...

im *

Mamie Gummer Mary Willa "Mamie" Gummer (born August 3, 1983) is an American actress. She starred in the title role of The CW series ''Emily Owens, M.D.'' (2012–2013), and played the recurring role of Nancy Crozier on '' The Good Wife'' (2010–2015) and its ...

as Electra, Heron's mother *

Chris Diamantopoulos Chris Diamantopoulos (born May 9, 1975) is a Canadian actor. He played Russ Hanneman in the HBO series '' Silicon Valley'' and starred in the film '' The Three Stooges'', and the TV series ''Good Girls Revolt''. He currently voices Mickey Mouse ...

as Evios,

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as ...

Jessica Henwick Jessica Yu-Li Henwick (born 30 August 1992) is a BAFTA nominated English actress, writer and director. She is known for her roles as Nymeria Sand in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2015–2017), X-wing pilot Jessika Pava in the film '' S ...

as Alexia *

Melina Kanakaredes Melina Eleni Kanakaredes Constantinides ( el, Μελίνα Ελένη Κανακαρίδη Κωνσταντινίδη; born April 23, 1967) is an American actress. She is widely known for her roles in U.S. primetime television dramas as Dr. Sydn ...

as Ariana *

Matthew Mercer Matthew Christopher Miller (born June 29, 1982), better known as Matthew Mercer, is an American voice actor. He is best known for his work with Studiopolis, Funimation, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, Viz Media, and NYAV Post in anime, cartoons, and v ...

Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orat ...

, Alexia's Father *

Adetokumboh M'Cormack Frederick Adetokumboh M'Cormack (sometimes credited as Ade McCormack, Frederick McCormack, or Adetokumoh McCormack) (February 27, 1982) is a Sierra Leonean-born American actor, known for his roles in the television series ''Lost'' and ''Heroes''. ...

as Kofi * Adam Croasdell as

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

Hephaestus Hephaestus (; eight spellings; grc-gre, Ἥφαιστος, Hḗphaistos) is the Greek god of blacksmiths, metalworking, carpenters, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metallurgy, fire (compare, however, with Hestia), and volcanoes.Walter B ...

* Danny Jacobs as King Periander, King Acrisius * Matt Lowe as

Ares Ares (; grc, Ἄρης, ''Árēs'' ) is the Greek god of war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for success in war ...

Jennifer Hale Jennifer Hale is a Canadian-American voice actress. She is best known for her work in video game franchises such as ''Baldur's Gate'', '' Mass Effect'', '' Metal Gear Solid'', '' BioShock Infinite'', '' Metroid Prime'', ''Overwatch'', and '' Sta ...

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified with ...

Clotho Clotho (; el, Κλωθώ) is a mythological figure. She is the youngest of the Three Fates or Moirai who spins the thread of human life; the other two draw out ( Lachesis) and cut (Atropos) in ancient Greek mythology. Her Roman equivalent is ...

Fred Tatasciore Fred Tatasciore (; ) is an American voice actor who has provided voices in animated and live-action films, television shows, and video games. He is known for voicing the Hulk and Beast in various Marvel media and Solomon Grundy in various DC ...

Hades Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...

David Shaughnessy David Shaughnessy is an English actor, producer and director best known for his voice-work in '' Big Hero 6'', '' Big Hero 6: The Series'', ''Fallout 4'', ''Labyrinth'', ''Mass Effect'', ''Peter Pan and the Pirates'', ''Star Wars Rebels'', ''Th ...

Chiron In Greek mythology, Chiron ( ; also Cheiron or Kheiron; ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs". Biography Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology ...

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; grc, wikt:Διόνυσος, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstas ...

Vanessa Marshall Vanessa Marshall (born October 19, 1969 in Los Angeles, California, U.S.) is an American voice and television actress who is most active in films, cartoons and video games. She is the daughter of actress Joan Van Ark and reporter John Marshall. ...

as Ariana's Sister, Villager

Episodes

Reception

For the series, review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

collected 20 reviews and identified 100% of them to be 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 A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

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 show was nominated for an Annie Award for Best Music in 2021.

References

External links

* * * {{Netflix original animated series and films 2020 American television series debuts Television series set in ancient Greece 2020s American adult animated television series American action adventure television series American adult animated action television series American adult animated adventure television series American adult animated fantasy television series American adult animated web series Animated television series by Netflix Anime-influenced animation Anime-influenced Western animation Anime-influenced Western animated television series Dark fantasy television series English-language Netflix original programming Television series based on classical mythology