Has someone laced the complimentary bananas in the HBO Max cafeteria? According to the studio, a new comedy series titled The People V. Gorilla Grodd is officially in the works, with Skyler Gisondo and Jimmy Tatro starring as Jimmy Olsen and Gorilla Grodd, respectively.
HBO Max announced the re-branded project on Friday afternoon, revealing that American Vandal creators Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault will serve as co-showrunners, writers, and executive producers. Today’s press release even featured a faux Daily Planet article detailing the show’s wild premise, which you can check out below:
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.
The Max Original comedy stars Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Jimmy Tatro as Gorilla Grodd, and Superman actors Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant, and Wendell Pierce as Perry White. The series also stars Mary Holland, Eduardo Franco, Arian Moayed, Dan Perrault, Andrew Leeds, and Tim Baltz.
While commenting on the new series, DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran said, “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.”
Alright. I’ll bite. I wasn’t excited in the least about Gisondo’s Jimmy Olsen getting his own HBO Max series, since I didn’t like the character at all in Superman, but if this is the direction DC is going, I must admit I’m intrigued. The People V. Gorilla Grodd sounds like an absurdist take on reintroducing the hulking villain to fans, and a legal comedy drama is the perfect way to do it.
What do you think about DC switching gears for The People V. Gorilla Grodd? Let us know in the comments section below.