DC Studios head James Gunn has announced the next series to come to HBO Max with Superman‘s Skyler Gisondo leading The People v. Gorilla Grodd, a mockumentary true crime series from the creators of American Vandal.
Gunn has previously teased a Jimmy Olsen-led series also starring The Flash villain Gorilla Grodd, but this is the first time he is officially announcing the series and what the story will be. He made the announcement on Instagram, sharing a fictitious article from the Daily Planet that Jimmy Olsen will dive into the trial that convicted Grodd of the apparent murder of his father, a crime he has long claimed innocence for. The official synopsis reads:
In The People v. Gorilla Grodd, 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.
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The People v. Gorilla Grodd will see Gisondo reprise Jimmy Olsen alongside Jimmy Tatro (The Hawk) as Gorilla Grodd. Returning from Superman with Gisondo are Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant and Wendell Pierce as Perry White. New additions to Gunn’s DCU also include Mary Holland (Little House on the Prairie), Eduardo Franco (Stranger Things), Dan Perrault (The Residence) and Arian Moayed (Wonder Man).
The People v. Gorilla Grodd was created by Gunn and Peter Safran, who will executive produce the series. American Vandal‘s Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault will serve as showrunners, writers and executive producers with Yacenda directing all eight episodes. This comes years after their Netflix comedy series which also followed the true crime mockumentary format following a group of high schoolers investigating an infamous prank to clear the perpetrator’s name.
“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.”
“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,” said Gunn and Safran. “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 are thrilled to be working with Tony and Dan, alongside James, Peter, the entire DC team and our colleagues at WBTV, to bring these iconic DCU characters to HBO Max in a new and unexpected way,” said Amy Gravitt, EVP of HBO Programming and Head of HBO & HBO Max Comedy Series. “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.”
The news of DC’s next series comes a week after Lanterns premiered to huge numbers and positive reception from fans and critics alike. While we wait for The People v. Gorilla Grodd, Gisondo will be seen as Jimmy Olsen again in next summer’s Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow alongside David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Sara Sampaio, Edi Gathegi, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Frank Grillo and María Gabriela de Faría on July 9th, 2027.
