James Gunn and HBO Announce New 8-Episode Action True-Crime Series Spin-Off

The DC Universe is expanding with a new spinoff centered around Superman. Following the reboot of the DCU with the upcoming 2025 film, we’ve seen this year’s less-than-stellar Supergirl and can look forward to the sequel, Man of Tomorrow, set for 2027. Now, the Superman family is set to grow even more with a fresh comedy series on HBO Max titled The People v. Gorilla Grodd. This mockumentary-style show will feature Jimmy Olsen from the Daily Planet as he investigates a murder case involving a psychic gorilla accused of patricide.

HBO has officially greenlit an eight-episode, straight-to-series order for this half-hour comedy, which is expected to draw comparisons to popular series like The Office, Parks and Recreation, and American Vandal.

Here’s the official logline for The People v. Gorilla Grodd:

A superintelligent ape is found guilty of murdering his father, the King of Gorilla City. In this eight-part “true” crime docuseries, Jimmy Olsen reopens the case to determine if Gorilla Grodd was wrongfully convicted in one of Metropolis’ most notorious murder trials.

Skyler Gisondo will return as Jimmy Olsen, sharing the screen with Jimmy Tatro as Gorilla Grodd. Several actors from the Superman franchise will reprise their roles, including Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant, and Wendell Pierce as Perry White. The cast also features Mary Holland, Eduardo Franco, Arian Moayed, Dan Perrault, Andrew Leeds, and Tim Baltz.

Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, known for creating American Vandal, will take on the roles of showrunners, writers, and executive producers, with Yacenda directing all episodes. James Gunn and Peter Safran will also serve as executive producers.

“Skyler’s fantastic performance and the great chemistry among the Daily Planet cast made it clear that this would be a fun world to explore after ‘Superman,’” Gunn and Safran stated. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with the talented Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda to guide the audience through some of the darker and more humorous aspects of the DCU as Jimmy shines a light on the Metropolis criminal justice system in his docuseries.”

Yacenda and Perrault expressed their enthusiasm for crafting a series that feels more like a piece of the DCU rather than just another entry. “We aim to create a Daily Planet original documentary for the people of Metropolis. We hope it resonates with fans of comics, comedy, and true crime. While we can’t predict audience reactions just yet, we already know it’s a massive hit in Metropolis. They’re loving this series.”

The Gorilla Grodd project was first reported late last year, initially described as focusing on Daily Planet photojournalist Jimmy Olsen.

Gorilla Grodd, created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, made his debut in The Flash #106 in 1959. Over the past five decades, Grodd has appeared in various DC animated series and video games, as well as in live-action within The CW’s Arrowverse, starting in The Flash and later in Legends of Tomorrow. One of Grodd’s most notorious live-action moments involved him traveling back in time to confront a young Barack Obama, famously declaring, “Time to make America Grodd again.” It remains to be seen if HBO’s interpretation of Gorilla Grodd can surpass that memorable moment.