HBO Max Orders The People v. Gorilla Grodd, a Jimmy Olsen True-Crime Comedy

Jimmy Olsen is getting one of the strangest assignments in the new DC Universe.

HBO Max has given a straight-to-series order to The People v. Gorilla Grodd, an eight-episode DC Studios comedy that turns one of DC’s most recognizable villains into the subject of an in-universe true-crime documentary.

Skyler Gisondo reprises his Superman role as Jimmy Olsen, while Jimmy Tatro plays Gorilla Grodd. The setup is simple: Grodd has already been convicted of murdering his father, the King of Gorilla City, and Jimmy reopens the case to investigate whether one of Metropolis’ most notorious defendants was actually wrongly convicted.

That distinction matters. This is not a courtroom show about putting Grodd on trial. The trial is already over when the series begins. Jimmy is looking back at the case as a journalist and documentarian.

The project comes from American Vandal creators Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda, which gives a pretty clear idea of the tone HBO Max and DC Studios are chasing. Perrault will serve as showrunner, writer and executive producer, while Yacenda is set to direct all eight episodes. James Gunn and Peter Safran also executive produce.

Several Daily Planet faces are coming with Jimmy. Beck Bennett returns as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant and Wendell Pierce as Perry White. The supporting cast also includes Mary Holland, Eduardo Franco, Arian Moayed, Dan Perrault, Andrew Leeds and Tim Baltz.

The series is designed to feel like something that actually exists inside the DCU rather than a conventional superhero spin-off. Perrault and Yacenda described it as a Daily Planet documentary made for the people of Metropolis, an approach that gives DC Studios room to play with true-crime conventions without turning Grodd’s story into a standard supervillain plot.

The Jimmy Olsen project was first reported in development in November 2025. The formal HBO Max order now gives it a title, a full cast and a much clearer identity.

There is no premiere date yet.