Remember that Jimmy Olsen Superman spinoff series we’ve been hearing about since last summer? Well, now we know what it is. HBO Max has ordered the eight-episode series The People V. Gorilla Grodd, a mockumentary of true-crime docs that will cast a humorous light on the Metropolis justice system.
The DC Studios/Warner Bros. Television collaboration will reunite the Daily Planet staff seen in James Gunn’s Superman: Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover reprises her role as Cat Grant, and Wendell Pierce returns as Perry White.
New additions to the DCU are Jimmy Tatro as Gorilla Grodd, who was announced some time ago, along with Mary Holland, Eduardo Franco, Arian Moayed, Dan Perrault, Andrew Leeds, and Tim Baltz.
It’s the perfect superhero vehicle for American Vandal creators Tony Yacenda and Perrault, who worked with Tatro on that series, a true-crime parody.
The series will center on Grodd, a super-intelligent ape, who is convicted of murdering his father, the King of Gorilla City. Olsen and the Daily Planet team investigate the case as part of an eight-part documentary on whether Grodd was wrongfully convicted.
Grodd has already made an appearance in Gunn’s DCU during an episode of Creature Commandos.
DC Studios co-chairs Gunn and Peter Safran praised the cast’s chemistry in a statement, “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. 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.”
I thought this Jimmy Olsen spinoff was a horrible idea at first, but this totally changes my mind. The tone sounds similar to Marvel’s She-Hulk, which was often a send-up of legal dramas. Sounds pretty good to me.
