New HBO Max series turns Jimmy Olsen into a true crime reporter

DC Studios and HBO Max are developing a new series derived from Superman titled DC Crime, starring Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, the iconic Daily Planet reporter. The duo Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, known for American Vandal, wrote the script, executive produced and also took on the role of showrunners, promising a fresh and unexpected approach to the DC universe.

James Gunn and Peter Safran, co-presidents of DC Studios, will executive produce, with Galen Vaisman overseeing the project. Production will be handled by Warner Bros. Television, consolidating DC’s effort to create new branches within its audiovisual universe.

Gorilla Grodd, created by writer John Broome and artist Carmine Infantino, debuted in May 1959 in the comic book The Flash #106. He is a super-intelligent gorilla, endowed with superhuman strength and speed, as well as telepathic and telekinetic powers.

Over the decades, Grodd has been adapted several times for television, appearing in animated series such as Super Friends, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Harley Quinn. He also had a brief appearance in the DCU’s Creature Commandos.

Grodd also appeared in the animated film Batman Ninja and was a playable character in Injustice 2. His real-life debut took place in the Arrowverse, with notable appearances in The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow.

DC Crime thus emerges as a project that promises to explore the darkest and most intriguing areas of the DC universe, offering a new lens on journalism within Metropolis and perhaps a new way of telling superhero stories, less epic, but more human.