Show creators Charley and Vlas discuss the family stories of their youth they drew upon for the epic conclusion - filled with chaos, devastation, and the Titan King Cronus - to their epic war between gods, mortals, and demons; debuts May 8 on Netflix.
Greek brothers writing about Greek brothers. If a project ever fell into the hands of kismet, blessed by gods real and imaginary, it’s Blood of Zeus.
“Greek mythology is just one big family soap opera,” shares Charley Parlapanides, who created the series with his brother Vlas Parlapanides. “We grew up in a very big, tight-knit Greek family. So, I think that was always, even subliminally, part of the draw for us making this show. It’s about families and it all just meshed.”
Centered on Zeus’ demigod son Heron, who teams up with his father to save Olympus and Earth from the wrath of Zeus’ vengeful wife Hera and Heron’s vengeful half-brother Seraphim, the Netflix series releases its third and final season on Thursday, May 8.
The return of the award-winning smash hit, animated by Powerhouse Animation, brings about the end of Heron and Seraphim's story, as the half-brothers look to fulfill their roles as prophesied saviors of the world. A greater threat than ever looms, however, with the return of the Titans and of Typhon, the monstrous creature Olympus nearly fell to in the distant past.
Check out the Season 3 trailer:
“Buckle up because chaos is coming,” says Charley. “Typhon has been unleashed, and anyone familiar with mythology knows he is a force to be reckoned with. Expect devastation, loss, and carnage on a massive scale. But he’s not the only threat our heroes will face. Another formidable adversary looms in the shadows, the King of the Titans himself, Cronus.”
Season 3 picks up the story directly in the aftermath of the Season 2 finale that left Heron dead at the hand of Hades… and every viewer’s jaw on the floor.
Like Charley said, it’s one, big family soap opera.
“Family stories have always been important to us,” notes Vlas. “Our grandmother, as a child, had to hide from the Turks who came and raided her village, burning it down. Her father, our great grandfather, rallied the men of the village and they all worked to buy time for the women and children to get out of the village and get to these boats. He was the leader of this resistance, and our grandmother was able to get out, come to the U.S. and start a new life.”
While Heron and Seraphim are demigod and part demon beings while the Parlapanides are–as far as we know–mere mortals, it has been a dream project for the brothers to write about the dramas and epics of two powerful Greek brothers at odds with the deities on Mount Olympus and the beasts of the underworld. Struggle, pain, loss and fighting for one's life are not just themes in their show, they are concepts with which the Parlapanides family is all too familiar.
“We grew up with these stories of our family as well as Greek mythology,” shares Charley. “And one of the stories we always loved was the story of Hercules. We thought it was interesting that Hercules and his twin brother Iphicles had different fathers but, on the Argo ship, they became allies. We thought it would be fun to make a story where, instead of becoming allies, these two brothers end up being adversaries.”
In Vlas and Charley’s remix of the popular tale, Heron’s twin brother Seraphim has a poisoned, vengeful mind after taking on the essence of a fierce demon he encounters during his time living in solitude. Set on vengeance against the uncle who tried to kill him as a baby in an attempt to claim the young prince’s throne, Seraphim is convinced that Zeus is the root cause of his suffering and that the gods the Greeks so loyalty serve are, in fact, more flawed than humans and undeserving of such reverence.
“We come from the theater and the live-action space, so we wanted the story to have emotional truth,” explains Vlas, who served as a writer with Charley on Immortals and the live-action adaptation of the anime Death Note. “We wanted to take that authenticity that you normally find in live-action, feature dramas and bring that to the animated space.”
One of the ways the brothers brought that emotional depth to their Blood of Zeus characters was through the design of their eyes. Many of the diverse characters in the series have glassy, light-colored eyes. The reasoning was, if the eyes are the windows of the soul, it would be better to make that window as transparent as possible.
“That was something Powerhouse Animation came up with, to sell the emotion through the eyes” shares Charley. “Some people who watch this show don’t even realize it, but Powerhouse and our compositors would manipulate the lighting and color of the eyes to show expression. Every animated project is on a budget, and we all use cheats to help sell what we’re trying to do. The eyes were a big part of that.”
Another way the brothers heightened emotions and stakes in the series was to make every fight sequence unique, with each killing blow different.
“We always take great effort to try and write original action sequences and Shaunt Nigoghossian, who’s our director, doubled down on that,” says Charley. “He always said, ‘I don’t want a kill to ever be the same. I want each kill to be original.’ And that’s why, in the first season, every kill feels meaningful.”
Another selling point of the series is the show’s painted landscapes done by background designer Ryan Brothers.
“Shaunt was always very big about, whenever we went to a new place in the show, establishing that world,” notes Charley. “Doing these wide shots, establishing the environment, getting those reaction shots of a character seeing all this for the first time; it’s subtle but it works. And these paintings don’t move but they are just beautiful. We try to share them on Instagram when we can.”
When it came to Season 1, the Parlapanides brothers felt like they’d struck gold with the animation and aesthetics, and established a magical recipe that, judging by the show’s accolades and award nominations, seemed to work. But for Season 2, created during the COVID pandemic, the team felt the strain and Charley and Vlas admit it was a struggle to keep the magic alive.
“We had to pivot for a lot of things in Season 2 and spent a lot of time putting out fires,” notes Charley. “But, because of some of those pivots last season, our animation for Season 3 is better and has really improved.”
Vlas adds, “We’re very proud of all the hard work everyone did. We believe fans are going to love Season 3. We complete the journey with the brothers in a beautiful way. It’s packed with surprises, moments that will make them laugh, cry, and cheer, while ultimately leaving them with a sense of hope. Heron and Seraphim’s relationship is very adversarial in the beginning but, by the end, they really bridge that divide. My hope is that audiences connect with the emotional depth of the characters and the timeless themes drawn from Greek mythology, reminding them that even in our darkest moments, there is always a path toward redemption.”
Vlas and Charley both express deep gratitude to their team, the Netflix executives who “let us tell the story we wanted to tell,” as well as the fans who “have supported this series from the beginning.”
“There’s a great moment at the end of Season 3 that was actually inspired by a fan suggestion on social media after Season 1,” says Charley. “Vlas and I follow this mantra: the best idea wins. It doesn’t matter where it comes from. We’re not afraid to change course or admit when a different approach works better than what we originally planned. That’s why we encourage input from everyone on the team. We want to hear their ideas and their insights because they may see something we don’t. At the end of the day, we’re all working toward the same goal: making the best show possible.”
There is a special dedication at the end of Season 3 that honors storyboard artist and director Will Ruzicka, who worked on Season 1 and passed away in 2023.
“He was not only an exceptional artist but also a truly kind and decent guy,” shares Charley. “We miss him, as does the entire animation community and we wanted to honor his memory at the end of the show.”
As for what’s next for Blood of Zeus, Vlas teases this may not be the end, but that’s in the hands of higher powers.
“We have ideas in terms of continuing the story and building out the world,” says Vlas. “Whatever cards you’re dealt, you play, and you play to the best of your ability. We’ll always be grateful we got three seasons. And then, where it goes, it goes.”
Victoria Davis is a full-time, freelance journalist and part-time Otaku with an affinity for all things anime. She's reported on numerous stories from activist news to entertainment. Find more about her work at victoriadavisdepiction.com.
