HBO Max and DC Studios have given an eight-episode, straight-to-series order to The People v. Gorilla Grodd, a comedy mockumentary created by Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault that centers on Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen.
Investigating Gorilla Grodd
The series adopts the visual and structural language of modern true-crime docuseries. Jimmy Olsen investigates whether Gorilla Grodd was wrongly convicted of murdering his father. Yacenda and Perrault serve as showrunners, writers, and executive producers. Yacenda directs every episode of the eight-part run.
Skyler Gisondo reprises his role as Jimmy Olsen, with Jimmy Tatro starring opposite him as Gorilla Grodd. The production features several actors returning from James Gunn's Superman film. Beck Bennett returns as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover appears as Cat Grant, and Wendell Pierce reprises his role as Perry White. The supporting cast includes Mary Holland, Eduardo Franco, Arian Moayed, Andrew Leeds, and Tim Baltz.
Expansion of the DCU Slate
The project streams on HBO Max as part of the broader DC Universe expansion. Within the narrative continuity, the series is framed as an original documentary produced by the Daily Planet rather than a conventional scripted drama or action spin-off.
Neither HBO Max nor DC Studios has announced an official release window or premiere date for the series. Production timelines remain tied to the completion of the main DCU slate projects currently in post-production.
This unique framing allows the creative team to lean heavily into satirical journalism and workplace comedy tropes. By positioning the investigation through the lens of a print media outlet attempting prestige documentary filmmaking, the show brings a distinctly metatextual layer to the superhero genre.
Yacenda and Perrault bring a proven track record for this exact format, having previously mastered the mockumentary genre with critically acclaimed athletic satires. Their signature style relies on meticulous adherence to documentary aesthetics, complete with talking-head interviews, dramatic re-enactments, and investigative journalist pressure tactics. This tonal approach provides a stark contrast to the high-stakes, cosmic action typically associated with the broader DCU slate, proving that the shared universe has ample room for grounded, absurd comedy.
While major blockbuster entries carry the weight of world-ending threats and complex mythologies, this streaming entry utilizes familiar supporting players to explore the bizarre everyday reality of living in a world populated by super-powered beings and hyper-intelligent apes. The procedural format breaks down the absurdity of comic book lore through the mundane bureaucracy of legal appeals and investigative journalism.
