The long-rumored DCU television project built around Jimmy Olsen and Gorilla Grodd is finally moving from the development pile to a soundstage. DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran confirmed the series begins filming this year, and by the look of it, he did not entirely mean to.
The confirmation came during the Brazilian leg of the Supergirl press tour, where Safran sat down with content creator Good Nerd to talk through DC’s upcoming slate. While running through what is on the horizon, he mentioned that the Gorilla Grodd show for HBO is set to “start shooting this year,” then immediately caught himself, adding that it was big news and “I probably shouldn’t have said that.” It is the first time anyone at the top of DC Studios has put a production start on the record, which answers a question fans have been circling since the project first surfaced.
For anyone who has lost track of what this show actually is, the framing is the fun part. The series is a fictional true crime docuseries set inside the DC Universe, hosted by Skyler Gisondo’s Jimmy Olsen as he and a team of Daily Planet reporters chase down supervillain cases. Season 1 puts Gorilla Grodd at the center, which is worth clarifying because Safran calling it “the Grodd show” has already created some confusion online. Grodd is the first big bad, not the lead. Olsen is still the anchor, reprising the role Gisondo played in last summer’s Superman.
The title situation is still murky. The project originally leaked under the working title DC Crime, and more recent reporting has pointed to American Villain. DC Studios has not locked either one publicly. Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, the creators of American Vandal, are attached as writers, executive producers, and showrunners, which tells you everything about the tone they are going for. James Gunn and Safran executive produce for Warner Bros. Television, with Galen Vaisman overseeing production.
Grodd himself is a deep cut for casual fans but a heavy hitter in the comics. Created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, he first appeared in 1959 as a super-intelligent member of a psychic gorilla society and has spent most of his publishing life tormenting the Flash. Live-action audiences likely know him best from his run on The CW’s The Flash during the Arrowverse years, alongside numerous animated appearances.
On timing, the math lines up cleanly with what Gunn has already signaled. When the show first leaked back in November, Gunn pushed back on two points: there was never a project officially titled DC Crime, and it was not coming in 2026. He pointed to 2027 instead. A 2026 production start fits that window exactly, with a likely HBO Max release in 2027 or early 2028.
Safran covered more ground in the same conversation. He reaffirmed The Brave and the Bold, the film that brings Batman into the DCU, touched on Justice League plans, and the broader slate continues to fill out around Lanterns and the fall release of Clayface. The Grodd series now slots in as one of the next DCU shows headed into production, and easily one of the strangest concepts on the board. Supergirl, the film that put Safran in front of these cameras in the first place, hits theaters June 26.
Sources: MovieWeb Cosmic Book News ComicBookMovie IGN
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