The Daily Planet staff is heading back to work, but not for another traditional superhero adventure. HBO Max has given an eight-episode, straight-to-series order to the new half-hour comedy “The People V. Gorilla Grodd,” the previously revealed Jimmy Olsen spinoff that expands the Metropolis corner of James Gunn’s DC Universe.
Produced by DC Studios in association with Warner Bros. Television, the comedy reunites several members of the Daily Planet ensemble from Gunn’s “Superman.” Skyler Gisondo reprises his role as Jimmy Olsen, Beck Bennett returns as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover reprises her role as Cat Grant, and Wendell Pierce returns as Perry White. Joining them is Jimmy Tatro as Gorilla Grodd, whose casting we reported last month, alongside newly announced cast members Mary Holland, Eduardo Franco, Arian Moayed, Dan Perrault, Andrew Leeds, and Tim Baltz. Roles for those six additions have not yet been disclosed.
The premise sounds like a knowingly ridiculous collision between a superhero spinoff and the true-crime boom: Grodd, a superintelligent ape, has been convicted of murdering his father, the King of Gorilla City. Jimmy reopens the case for an eight-part Daily Planet documentary investigating whether Grodd was wrongly convicted in one of Metropolis’ most famous murder trials.
That format is firmly within the wheelhouse of “American Vandal” creators Tony Yacenda and Perrault, whose sharp true-crime mockumentary turned an investigation into a juvenile high-school prank into a surprisingly incisive satire of the genre. Yacenda and Perrault will write, executive produce, and serve as showrunners on the new series, with Yacenda directing all eight episodes.
“We’re excited by the challenge of creating a series that feels less like an entry into the DCU and more like an artifact from it,” Yacenda and Perrault said in a statement. “A Daily Planet original documentary made for the people of Metropolis. We hope it’ll appeal to fans of the comics, comedy and true crime. And while we can’t speak for audiences here yet, we already know it’s a huge hit in Metropolis. They love this series.”
Gunn and Peter Safran, who executive produce alongside Yacenda and Perrault, said the chemistry among the Daily Planet employees in “Superman” encouraged DC Studios to continue exploring that workplace and its characters. The pair have overseen DC Studios together since being appointed co-chairs and co-CEOs in 2022.
“Between Skyler’s wonderful performance and the fantastic chemistry of the Daily Planet cast, we knew coming out of ‘Superman’ that this would be a fun world to explore,” Gunn and Safran said. “We’re excited to work with the brilliant Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda to take the audience down some of the darker and funnier streets and alleyways of the DCU as Jimmy spotlights the Metropolis criminal justice system for his docuseries.”
The concept also illustrates the breadth of the interconnected universe Gunn and Safran are building. Instead of giving Jimmy Olsen a conventional supporting-character spinoff, “The People V. Gorilla Grodd” will function as an in-universe production—one capable of expanding Metropolis while satirizing the criminal justice system and true-crime television. It joins a growing television slate that includes the already-launched “Creature Commandos” and the eight-episode “Lanterns.”
“We already know Skyler Gisondo is pitch-perfect as Jimmy Olsen, and we can’t wait for fans to experience Jimmy Tatro’s captivating and hilarious portrayal of Grodd,” said Amy Gravitt, executive vice president of HBO Programming and head of HBO and HBO Max comedy series.
Production timing and a premiere date have not yet been announced, but following the critical and ratings success of “Lanterns,” DC Studios suddenly has wings again after the commercial disappointment of “Supergirl.”
