HBO and James Gunn Announce DC Jimmy Olsen True-Crime Spinoff Series

The DC Universe is expanding with another Superman spinoff. Following the reboot launched by James Gunn and Peter Safran with 2025’s Superman, DC released Supergirl and scheduled the follow-up film Man of Tomorrow for 2027. The studio is now developing a mockumentary comedy series for HBO Max titled The People v. Gorilla Grodd, following Daily Planet photojournalist Jimmy Olsen as he investigates a murder trial involving a telepathic ape.

HBO gave an eight-episode, straight-to-series order to the half-hour comedy, which draws structural inspiration from series such as The Office, Parks and Recreation, and American Vandal.

A superintelligent ape is convicted of murdering his father, the King of Gorilla City. In an eight-part “true” crime docuseries, the Daily Planet’s Jimmy Olsen reopens the case, investigating whether Gorilla Grodd was wrongly convicted in one of Metropolis’ most famous murder trials.

Skyler Gisondo will reprise his role as Jimmy Olsen alongside Jimmy Tatro as Gorilla Grodd. Several cast members from Superman are returning to portray Daily Planet staff, including Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant, and Wendell Pierce as Perry White. The ensemble also includes Mary Holland, Eduardo Franco, Arian Moayed, Dan Perrault, Andrew Leeds, and Tim Baltz.

Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, creators of Netflix’s American Vandal, will serve as showrunners, writers, and executive producers. Yacenda will direct every episode of the series, with Gunn and Safran executive producing.

“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 in a statement. “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.”

“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. “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.”

Reports detailing DC Studios’ Gorilla Grodd project first appeared late last year, focusing on Olsen digging into the Metropolis legal system.

Who is Gorilla Grodd?

Writer John Broome and artist Carmine Infantino created Gorilla Grodd, debuting the villain in 1959’s The Flash #106. Grodd has since appeared in numerous DC animated series and video games over the past five decades. The character also entered live action in The CW’s Arrowverse, appearing on The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow, where a time-travel storyline saw the gorilla attempt to assassinate a college-aged Barack Obama.

Source: Polygon