It’s official: HBO Max has given an eight-episode, straight-to-series order to its long-in-the-works Jimmy Olsen Superman spinoff series, from DC Studios and Warner Bros. Television. The half-hour comedy has been titled The People v. Gorilla Grodd, which also is a meme.
Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen and Jimmy Tatro as Gorilla Grodd headline the series, done in the true-crime docuseries/mockumentary genre. Season 1 will be centered around DC bad guy Gorilla Grodd, who has psychic powers and other skills after his encounter with an alien spaceship. The character was created in 1959 by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, and was most recently featured as part of DC’s Arrowverse.
They are joined by several Superman actors reprising their roles — Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant, and Wendell Pierce as Perry White — as well as new cast additions Mary Holland, Eduardo Franco, Arian Moayed, Dan Perrault, Andrew Leeds, and Tim Baltz.
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Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault serve as showrunners, writers, and executive producers with Yacenda set to direct all episodes. James Gunn and Peter Safran also serve as executive producers.
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.
“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, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming, 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.”
On HBO Max, The People v. Gorilla Grodd joins the DC drama Lanterns, which just launched to sold viewership, as the streamer and DC Studios’s development slate has been going through a reset.
“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,” James Gunn and Peter Safran, executive producers and DC Studios’ Co-Chairmen & Co-CEOs. 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 People v. Gorilla Grodd has had had a blinking greenlight for a while, with casting done ahead of a formal order.
The series, from DC Studios in association with Warner Bros. Television, is executive produced by James Gunn, Peter Safran, Tony Yacenda, and Dan Perrault. Yacenda and Perrault also serve as showrunners and writers. All episodes are directed by Tony Yacenda.
“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.”
Gisondo is repped by UTA, Untitled Entertainment and Jackoway Austen.
Tatro is repped by Brillstein Entertainment, UTA, Toczek Suddleson Law Group LLP and Luna Public Relations.
Bennett is repped by UTA and Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg Mobasser Younger & Light.
Hoover is repped by Buchwald, Untitled Entertainment, Brecheen Feldman Breimer Silver Thompson, and Birch Public Relations.
Pierce is repped by Paradigm.
Holland is repped by Atlas Artists, Paradigm Talent Agency, Ziffren Brittenham.
Franco is repped by Mosaic, UTA & Kovert Creative.
Moayed is repped by UTA and Kipperman Management.
Perrault is repped by Brillstein, UTA, and Narrative.
Leeds is repped by Gersh, Perennial Entertainment, and Felker Toczek Suddleson McGinnis Ryan LLP.
Baltz is repped by repped by El Centro Entertainment, Gersh, and Lichter-Grossman.
