Quick answer: The People v. Gorilla Grodd is an eight-episode, half-hour HBO Max comedy presented as an in-universe true-crime documentary. Skyler Gisondo returns as Daily Planet reporter Jimmy Olsen, who reopens the case against Gorilla Grodd, played by Jimmy Tatro. Grodd has been convicted of murdering his father, the King of Gorilla City, but Jimmy investigates whether one of Metropolis’ most famous murder trials reached the wrong verdict.
This is not being pitched as a conventional superhero adventure or a courtroom drama with a weekly case. The central joke is that viewers are watching a documentary made inside the DC Universe. That lets the series treat a superintelligent ape, Metropolis journalism and a sensational murder trial with the polished seriousness of a prestige crime documentary.
What is The People v. Gorilla Grodd about?
The premise starts after the verdict. Gorilla Grodd has already been convicted of killing his father, the King of Gorilla City. Jimmy Olsen then reopens the story for an eight-part true-crime docuseries and asks whether Grodd was wrongly convicted.
That setup changes the usual DC point of view. Jimmy is not simply reporting a supervillain attack after Superman saves the day. He is examining evidence, institutions and public certainty around a famous Metropolis case. Grodd is also not introduced only as a physical threat. He is the subject of a murder documentary whose guilt is the mystery.
The title tells you exactly how the show wants to play. “The People v.” sounds like the caption on a criminal case, while “Gorilla Grodd” pushes that familiar legal language into comic-book territory. The comedy should come from treating both halves seriously rather than winking at the audience every few seconds.
Why it is a true-crime mockumentary
Showrunners Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault described the series as a Daily Planet original documentary made for the people of Metropolis. That is the most useful key to the format. The camera, interviews and investigation belong to the fictional world rather than to an outside production explaining the DC Universe to us.
Yacenda and Perrault have already built comedies around documentary language. They created American Vandal, a true-crime spoof that ran for two seasons, and later made the esports mockumentary Players. Variety also notes that American Vandal won a Peabody Award for its first season and received an Emmy nomination for comedy writing. Jimmy Tatro and Eduardo Franco, both in the new DC series, appeared in its first season.
That background suggests the format is not decorative. A convincing mockumentary needs investigators with blind spots, witnesses who perform for the camera, suspicious edits and a case that remains interesting even when the jokes pause. The announced murder mystery gives the creators a sturdy engine for all eight episodes.
How Jimmy Olsen connects the series to Superman
Skyler Gisondo’s Jimmy Olsen is the bridge. The new series brings back several Daily Planet characters seen in Superman: Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant and Wendell Pierce as Perry White. Their presence makes the documentary feel like a newsroom project that grew out of an already established workplace.
James Gunn and Peter Safran said the chemistry of the Daily Planet cast made this corner of the DC Universe feel worth exploring. Their announcement also framed Jimmy’s documentary as a way to spotlight the Metropolis criminal justice system. That gives the series room to be funny about reporters, lawyers, fame and civic institutions without requiring every episode to become a superhero battle.
If you are following the wider screen universe, our guide to Lanterns in India and the Lanterns cast guide cover another live-action branch of DC storytelling.
Who is in The People v. Gorilla Grodd cast?
- Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen
- Jimmy Tatro as Gorilla Grodd
- Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard
- Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant
- Wendell Pierce as Perry White
- Mary Holland
- Eduardo Franco
- Arian Moayed
- Dan Perrault
- Andrew Leeds
- Tim Baltz
Roles for the last seven performers were not identified in the announcement. Keeping those names unassigned matters because a mockumentary mystery can depend on hiding which actors play witnesses, investigators, relatives or suspects.
Who is making the series?
Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault are the writers, showrunners and executive producers. Yacenda is set to direct all eight episodes. James Gunn and Peter Safran also serve as executive producers. DC Studios and Warner Bros. Television are producing the Max Original.
The all-episodes directing assignment should help a format-heavy comedy maintain one visual language. True-crime parody depends on repeated choices in framing, graphics, interview staging and dramatic reconstruction. One director across the season gives those choices a better chance of feeling like a single documentary made by Jimmy’s team.
How many episodes are there?
HBO Max ordered eight half-hour episodes straight to series. In practical terms, that means the project did not receive only a pilot order. The full first season was commissioned, although the announcement did not provide a premiere date or production timetable.
The phrase “eight-part true-crime docuseries” also signals that the case will likely develop across the season rather than reset every week. What has not been announced is just as important: there is no confirmed release date, episode schedule or trailer yet.
Why this DC comedy could feel different
The cleverest part of the pitch is scale. Metropolis can contain aliens, superintelligent apes and impossible technology, but its residents would still consume news, argue about verdicts and turn criminal cases into entertainment. A documentary about Grodd can make the city feel lived in by showing how ordinary institutions process extraordinary people.
It also gives Jimmy Olsen a job that is active rather than decorative. He has to reopen a celebrated case, test the official story and hold an audience through eight episodes. Whether Grodd is innocent, guilty or trapped in a more complicated truth remains the hook. The announcement wisely does not answer it.
For now, the clean takeaway is simple: The People v. Gorilla Grodd is a crime-comedy mockumentary set inside the DC Universe, led by Jimmy Olsen and built around the possible wrongful conviction of Gorilla Grodd.
The People v. Gorilla Grodd FAQ
What is The People v. Gorilla Grodd?
It is an eight-episode, half-hour HBO Max comedy presented as a true-crime documentary made inside the DC Universe.
Who plays Gorilla Grodd?
Jimmy Tatro plays Gorilla Grodd, a superintelligent ape convicted of murdering his father, the King of Gorilla City.
Who plays Jimmy Olsen?
Skyler Gisondo returns as Daily Planet reporter Jimmy Olsen, who reopens Grodd’s case for the documentary.
How many episodes will the series have?
HBO Max has ordered eight half-hour episodes, with Tony Yacenda set to direct all of them.
When will The People v. Gorilla Grodd be released?
No premiere date was announced with the straight-to-series order.