HBO Max Orders DC Mockumentary 'The People v. Gorilla Grodd' with Skyler Gisondo and Jimmy Tatro
HBO Max has handed an eight-episode straight-to-series order to "The People v. Gorilla Grodd," a half-hour mockumentary that drops a DC supervillain into the world of true-crime documentary filmmaking. A straight-to-series order means no pilot is shot first — the platform commits to a full season from the start. DC Studios and Warner Bros. Television produce, with the project first reported to be in development in November 2025 and casting completed ahead of the formal greenlight (Variety; Deadline).
The premise is exactly what the title suggests. Gorilla Grodd — a superintelligent ape with psychic powers, gained after an encounter with an alien spaceship — has been convicted of murdering his father, the King of Gorilla City. Jimmy Olsen, the Daily Planet photographer played by Skyler Gisondo in the 2025 Superman film, reprises the role here as the host of an eight-part true-crime docuseries reopening the case. Jimmy Tatro plays Grodd himself (Variety; Deadline).
Behind the camera, the creative pedigree is steeped in mockumentary craft. Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault serve as writers, executive producers, and showrunners, with Yacenda directing all eight episodes. The pair created Netflix's American Vandal — a Peabody Award-winning send-up of true-crime documentaries that ran for two seasons — and Paramount+'s Players, a mockumentary set in the world of eSports. James Gunn and Peter Safran, the co-heads of DC Studios, also executive produce (Variety).
The supporting cast reads like a comedy repertory company. Beck Bennett plays Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover plays Cat Grant, and Wendell Pierce plays Perry White — the Daily Planet editor who has anchored the Superman mythology across decades of comics and screen. Mary Holland, Eduardo Franco, Arian Moayed, Andrew Leeds, and Tim Baltz round out the ensemble, with Perrault also appearing on camera (Variety).
Gorilla Grodd is one of DC's older villains, created in 1959 by writer John Broome and artist Carmine Infantino. He most recently appeared in the CW's Arrowverse shows before this new iteration. On HBO Max, "The People v. Gorilla Grodd" joins the DC drama Lanterns, which launched to solid viewership, broadening the platform's superhero slate beyond traditional action (Deadline).
Amy Gravitt, executive vice president of HBO Programming and head of HBO & HBO Max comedy series, commented on the order, though her specific remarks were not detailed in the reporting (Variety).
What makes this project sit apart from the usual comic-book adaptation is the format. Mockumentary is a comedy mode that treats fictional events as if a documentary crew is filming them in real time — the awkward pauses, the to-camera interviews, the shaky handheld footage. Pairing that with a DC villain in a courtroom setting, written by the team that turned high-school vandalism and eSports into prestige comedy, is a bet on tone over spectacle. No premiere date has been announced.
