Joe Tracz to Serve as Writer and Co-Showrunner on ONE PIECE

Joe Tracz, writer of Be More Chill and The Lightning Thief musical, has joined the second season of the Netflix series One Piece.

Deadline reports that Tracz will be working with Matt Owens, co-showrunner and writer of Season 1, as writer, executive producer and co-showrunner. 

Tracz previously worked with Netflix as a writer and producer on Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events and Dash & Lily. Most recently, Tracz worked as a writer for the Disney+ adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

In a statement, Tracz said this about the show: “I’ve been lucky to work on big adaptations of several beloved series, and they don’t come bigger or more beloved than One Piece. I’m a huge fan of Oda-san’s incredible imagination and I was blown away by what the live-action team created in Season One. So it’s a dream and a joy to come aboard the Going Merry as it enters the Grand Line for an even more giant Season Two.”

Owens also commented, saying "Joe has brought a wealth of enthusiasm and experience into our second season that will help take One Piece to new heights,” he said. “We’re incredibly lucky to have him as a co-captain of this ship. The best crew on the seas grows larger!”

For the stage, Tracz wrote the book for The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, which was was first introduced to New York audiences in 2014 as a one-hour musical as part of Theatreworks USA's Free Theatre Series. In 2017, the show was given a new life  Off-Broadway with a new score, an expanded script, a larger cast, and a live band. The show played a limited Broadway run in 2019.

Tracz also wrote the book for Be More Chill, which is based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Ned Vizzini. The show premiered Off-Broadway in 2018, before hitting Broadway in 2019. Joe Iconis' score went on to receive a Tony Award nomination for Best Original Score.

Photo credit: Jennifer Broski