3 Minutes
From True-Crime Parody to Superhero Comedy-Mystery
A new TV spin-off centered on Jimmy Olsen — the scrappy Daily Planet photographer recently seen in James Gunn’s Superman — is officially in development, and the creative team behind it signals a tonal left turn for DC’s on-screen universe. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dan Perel and Tony Yacenda, the Emmy- and Peabody-recognized duo behind the mock-true-crime hit American Vandal, will write, executive produce and serve as showrunners on the series starring Skylar Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen.
This is not a straight superhero drama. Perel and Yacenda are expected to lean into comedic mystery: Olsen and a handful of Daily Planet reporters (excluding Lois Lane and Clark Kent as primary leads) will investigate strange cases involving villains with supernatural or meta-powered abilities. Expect the series to mix newsroom banter with serialized detective beats and self-aware humor.
What to Expect — Style and Tone
If you liked American Vandal’s satirical pacing and documentary-style irony, anticipate a similarly playful interrogation of genre tropes. Think of it as part newsroom procedural, part comic-book whodunit, with a wink — a tonal cousin to James Gunn’s Peacemaker, which successfully married violent comic action and offbeat comedy for HBO Max. Fans of Harley Quinn’s irreverence or the character-focused approach of Gotham may also find this spin-off appealing, though the Daily Planet setting gives it a newsroom angle few superhero shows explore.
Season 1 Villain: Gorilla Grodd
Per reports, the first season will focus on Gorilla Grodd — the hyper-intelligent, telepathic ape ruler of the secretive Gorilla City. Grodd, a long-standing Flash antagonist created in 1959 by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, brings high-concept sci-fi stakes and the kind of villainy that can be both terrifying and absurd in equal measure. How Perel and Yacenda balance Grodd’s menace with comedic beats will be a proofreading test of the show’s tone.
Behind the scenes, James Gunn and Peter Safran will serve as executive producers on behalf of DC Studios, with Galen Vaisman overseeing DC’s side of production. Perel and Yacenda’s track record — from American Vandal’s festival triumphs to their work on Players, Strays and episodes of Chad Powers — suggests they’re well-suited to blend satire, character work and serialized mystery.
Trivia: Skylar Gisondo’s Jimmy Olsen was one of the more talked-about supporting turns in Gunn’s Superman, a factor often cited by sources as key to why the spin-off advanced into development.
This project is part of a growing trend: streaming and studio-driven universes are increasingly spinning out shows around supporting characters, mining established IP for fresh tonal experiments. Whether this Jimmy Olsen series becomes a clever tonal bridge or a niche late-night caper will depend on how it balances heart, humor, and high-concept comic-book stakes.
Short note: keep an eye on casting updates and the creative team’s early scripts — the blend of newsroom curiosity and superhero oddities could make this one of DC’s most original small-screen bets.
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