DCU Finally Scores a New Project After a Wave of Cancellations

DC Studios has spent the past year proving it isn’t interested in playing it safe with its television slate, mixing grounded detective drama with more traditional superhero storytelling in ways that keep audiences guessing what’s coming next. Just weeks after launching the moody, True Detective-style ‘Lanterns’ on HBO Max, the studio is pivoting in an entirely different direction.

That pivot comes in the form of one of the stranger concepts DC has attempted in recent memory. HBO Max has officially given a straight-to-series order for ‘The People v. Gorilla Grodd,’ an eight-episode half-hour comedy that reimagines one of the Flash’s most notable villains through the lens of a fake true crime documentary.

The series centers on Gorilla Grodd, a superintelligent ape convicted of murdering his father, the King of Gorilla City. Skyler Gisondo reprises his role as Jimmy Olsen from 2025’s ‘Superman,’ this time stepping behind the camera as an investigative documentarian determined to reopen Grodd’s case and examine whether justice was actually served in one of Metropolis’ most notorious murder trials.

Gisondo isn’t returning alone. Several other ‘Superman’ cast members are coming back for the spinoff, including Beck Bennett reprising his role as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover returning as Cat Grant, and Wendell Pierce once again playing Perry White.

Jimmy Tatro, known for his own history with fake true crime storytelling, takes on the role of Grodd himself. He’s joined by a group of newly announced cast members, including Mary Holland, Eduardo Franco, Arian Moayed, Dan Perrault, Andrew Leeds, and Tim Baltz, rounding out an ensemble clearly built for comedic chemistry rather than typical superhero spectacle.

Steering the project are Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, the creative team behind Netflix’s Peabody Award-winning ‘American Vandal’ and Paramount+’s eSports-focused mockumentary ‘Players.’ Both will serve as writers, showrunners, and executive producers, with Yacenda directing all eight episodes himself.

That pedigree makes the show’s true crime documentary framing feel like a natural fit rather than a gimmick. James Gunn and Peter Safran, DC Studios’ co-chairmen and co-CEOs, explained the thinking behind greenlighting the project in a joint 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,” they said, adding that they were “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.”

Gorilla Grodd has been part of DC Comics since his creation in 1959 by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, traditionally known as one of the Flash’s most persistent adversaries. He’s also made appearances outside the comics, including a notable stint in the Arrowverse, though nothing quite like this mockumentary treatment.

Reframing a character typically known for psychic powers and telepathic villainy into the subject of a satirical true crime series shows just how willing DC Studios has become to experiment tonally across its expanding slate. Amy Gravitt, HBO’s executive vice president of programming and head of HBO and HBO Max comedy series, echoed that enthusiasm, calling the partnership an opportunity to bring “these iconic DCU characters to HBO Max in a new and unexpected way.”

This series continues a pattern of DC Studios building out its television slate with genuinely varied tones, rather than treating every project as another piece of interconnected superhero mythology. Following the darker, mystery-driven approach of ‘Lanterns,’ pivoting straight into an absurdist courtroom mockumentary suggests Gunn and Safran are comfortable letting different corners of their DCU look and feel completely distinct from one another.

No premiere date has been announced yet for ‘The People v. Gorilla Grodd,’ but with a cast and creative team this strong already locked in, anticipation is likely to build quickly as more details emerge.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!