DC has no shortage of original TV series currently streaming on HBO Max, from Peacemaker to Doom Patrol to Young Justice. However, one of DC’s best HBO Max originals is the Harley Quinn animated series starring Kaley Cuoco as the title character.
With two seasons already streaming and a third currently in production, Harley Quinn has been anything but a failure. Even so, it’s failed to achieve the same mainstream success as its contemporaries like Invincible or Marvel’s Disney Plus shows. But despite its relative obscurity, Harley Quinn has plenty of elements that elevate it from just another DC cartoon to something truly special.
A Different Kind of Gotham
The series premiere of Harley Quinn introduces the titular villainess as most fans are sure to already know her — she’s the Joker’s girlfriend and loyal right-hand woman, hopelessly infatuated with her “Mr. J”. However, after taking the fall for Joker one too many times, Harley eventually realizes that she’s nothing but a pawn to him, and that he’ll never love her the way she loves him. And so, Harley Quinn leaves the Joker for good and strikes out on her own to carve out her own path as a supervillain in Gotham City.
The rest of the season follows Harley’s attempts to create her own criminal empire and earn a place in the Legion of Doom, the world’s most infamous supervillain organization. Along for the ride is Harley’s ragtag band of allies — Poison Ivy (Lake Bell), King Shark (Ron Funches), Clayface (Alan Tudyk), and Doctor Psycho (Tony Hale). Throughout her various schemes and capers, Harley comes into conflict with plenty of the DC Universe’s greatest heroes and villains, from Batman and Robin to Aquaman, from Penguin to Lex Luthor.
But despite being an animated series featuring some of DC’s most famous characters, Harley Quinn is a major departure from shows like Justice League Unlimited or Batman: The Brave and the Bold. For one thing, the series boasts a TV-MA rating, with plenty of violence and vulgarity that give it a tone closer to Peacemaker or The Boys than past DC cartoons. Additionally, the show is more of a sitcom than a traditional superhero series, depicting a more humorous and irreverent version of the DC Universe than most other adaptations. Clayface is a melodramatic would-be actor rather than a ruthless supervillain, the Legion of Doom functions like a mundane office, and Bane is an immature laughingstock with a voice parodying Tom Hardy’s portrayal.
However, this series has more to offer than just jokes. Comedy may often be the top priority, but the humor always works in service of the plot, not the other way around. Indeed, Harley Quinn has a surprisingly engaging and heartfelt story to tell, with a cast of characters who change and grow over time. Even the world of the series is altered in major ways, with permanent shake-ups to the status quo and even a few character deaths along the way. Despite being a comedy first and a superhero story second, Harley Quinn presents a version of the DC Universe that feels more authentic and alive than most other adaptations.
More Than a Sidekick
And if the writing weren’t already enough, Harley Quinn also boasts a brilliantly talented cast chock-full of comedians and character actors. Besides the aforementioned main cast, the series also features Diedrich Bader as Batman (reprising his role from The Brave and the Bold), Alfred Molina as Mr. Freeze, Wayne Knight as Penguin, Jason Alexander as Harley’s landlord Sy Borgman, and even Giancarlo Esposito of Breaking Bad and The Mandalorian fame as Lex Luthor. Alan Tudyk (Firefly, A Knight’s Tale, Wreck-It Ralph) in particular deserves a special mention for pulling double duty as both Clayface and Joker, not to mention various minor villains like Calendar Man and Condiment King.
So if Harley Quinn is so great, why hasn’t it caught on more? Sure, it has a loyal following, but it isn’t nearly as mainstream as other, similar shows. The aforementioned Peacemaker and The Boys prove that there’s absolutely a market for superhero shows filled with irreverent comedy and R-rated content. And while it’s possible that Harley Quinn has less appeal because it’s animated, that doesn’t quite explain it either. After all, recent hits like Arcane and The Legend of Vox Machina prove that animated series for adults can find success on streaming. And of course, Invincible falls into both categories, and it was one of the most popular shows of 2021.
Perhaps part of the problem is that Harley Quinn has been overshadowed by other, more high-profile DC adaptations, particularly the live-action movies. Alternatively, many DC fans have recently become burned out on Harley, due to her constant appearances in comics, movies, and video games. It doesn’t help matters that several other iterations try to paint Harley in a more heroic light — often unconvincingly, considering her villainous past. However, Harley’s animated series offers the best of both worlds, placing her in the spotlight as protagonist and giving her a fleshed-out character arc where she breaks away from Joker’s control, but also keeping her as the demented villain who fans love. One could easily argue that this Harley is the most nuanced, entertaining, and compelling depiction of the character to date.
Regardless of why it hasn’t achieved popularity on par with its contemporaries, Harley Quinn is a fun, thrilling series with plenty of laughs and a surprising amount of heart. It may seem like a simple premise, but the show’s clever writing and talented cast manage to elevate it to something more than the sum of its parts. Whether you’re looking for a fresh take on the DC Universe or you’re just a fan of the title character — or if you’re just here for Kite-Man — Harley Quinn might just be the show for you.