Sara Gilbert Joins Superman Spinoff The People v. Gorilla Grodd
Sara Gilbert has joined HBO Max's Superman spinoff The People v. Gorilla Grodd as a key journalist.
Deadline reported the casting on 24 September 2026. It described her part only as an "important journalist". Her exact character is under wraps.
She will not play Lois Lane or Cat Grant. Lois Lane is currently played by Rachel Brosnahan, while Mikaela Hoover plays Cat Grant and will reprise the role in the new series.
The series is a half-hour comedy characterised as an eight-part "true" crime docuseries set inside the DC story. Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen, played by Skyler Gisondo, reopens the case as host of the in-universe documentary. He investigates whether Gorilla Grodd was wrongly convicted.
Grodd, played by Jimmy Tatro, is a superintelligent ape found guilty of murdering his father, the King of Gorilla City. That conviction is the case Olsen picks apart across the eight episodes.
Several Superman newsroom faces return alongside Gisondo. Beck Bennett is back as Steve Lombard, Hoover is back as Cat Grant, and Wendell Pierce is back as Perry White.
The wider ensemble is growing fast. New additions include Mary Holland, Eduardo Franco, Arian Moayed, Dan Perrault, Andrew Leeds and Tim Baltz. Gilbert's journalist sits among that group, but outside the two established female newsroom roles.
Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault serve as showrunners, writers and executive producers. Yacenda is set to direct all eight episodes. James Gunn and Peter Safran serve as executive producers, with the series coming from DC Studios in association with Warner Bros. Television.
HBO Max gave the project a straight-to-series order, meaning no pilot was shot first, according to earlier trade coverage. First set photos have since shown a fully practical Gorilla Grodd suit rather than a digital creation.
What makes this stand out is the shape of it. This is not a capes-and-rescues spinoff. It is a court-case story told through a newsroom, with Olsen turning reporter and Grodd at the centre of the dock.
