Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Harley Quinn and Alfred became best friends for a day? Or how about if Clayface attended Chico State? Maybe you’ve thought about what would happen if the Joker ran for mayor of Gotham as a class-conscious socialist.
All these things sound pretty insane, right? But these are actual things that happen in Harley Quinn.
Since its debut in 2019, Harley Quinn has been one of the boldest, most unpredictable, and sometimes even hilarious superhero shows ever made. Streaming on HBO Max, the show has four full seasons, with a fifth currently airing new episodes every Thursday.
Created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, the show is executive-produced and written by Justin Halpern, Patrick Schumacker, and Dean Lorey. The show also includes a very strong voice cast, featuring Kaley Cuoco as Harley Quinn, Lake Bell as Poison Ivy, Alan Tudyk as Clayface & Joker, Ron Funches as King Shark, and Matt Oberg as Kite Man.
One thing that definitely makes the Harley Quinn show stand out is that it’s a DC show that takes place in Gotham but doesn’t really focus on Batman. In fact, it doesn’t really focus too much on any big names.
Well, it should be noted that Season 1 does focus a little too much on the Joker, which, as a result, makes it the weakest of the bunch—but even that makes sense. Up until their breakup, which occurs early in the first season, Harley’s entire existence was about serving Mister J, and her big character arc in the start of the show is the very act of breaking free from him.
Once the Joker is finally pushed into the background, the show gets immediately better. With Joker out of the spotlight, Harley, Poison Ivy, and their crew fully take over, and the show becomes one of the best things DC has put out in recent times. Ironically, on that same note, giving the Joker less screen time actually makes him more interesting, and he ends up going through some of the show’s wildest character arcs.
Joker goes through everything from being dead, to becoming a stepfather to a Latin family, to a class-conscious socialist—and that is exactly what makes this show so fun to watch: you just never know what’s coming.
It’s unpredictable in the best way possible. The storytelling is great, the characters are hilarious, and the world in which it all takes place truly feels as unhinged as a show about our favorite unhinged girly should be.
One of the most special things about Harley Quinn is its ability to make you like characters you’d never expected. King Shark is a sweet little tech nerd. Bane is a lovable idiot. Jim Gordon is a spiraling deadbeat alcoholic who’s always trying (and failing) to be taken seriously. And yet, even with all these wonky characters, the show never feels like it’s trying too hard—it’s just truly, authentically absurd in a way that isn’t overwhelming.
Talking about things that could have easily been overwhelming but weren’t, it’s impossible not to talk about Quinn herself.
Voiced by Kaley Cuoco, Harley is the absolute star of the show—she’s fun, hyper, violent, vulgar, witty, and, on top of all that, she still somehow manages to be surprisingly human.
Her arc throughout the series is captivating. We get to see her struggle trying to find her identity, trying to figure out who she was before the Joker came into her life. To the left of this, we also get to see her wrestle with whether she wants to be a villain, a hero, or just herself—an internal battle that turns out to be one of the most interesting in the entire show.
The many evolutions and arcs we see Quinn go through make the show about much more than just Joker’s ex or another chaotic antihero—she’s “Harley freaking Quinn”, and this show makes sure you know that in the most real way.
However, despite all this, and despite what the show’s name will have you think, it’s not all just about Harley.
Poison Ivy, voiced by Lake Bell, is by far one of the best and most well-written characters in the series.
Straight from Season 1, she’s the voice of reason, pushing Harley to cut things off with the Joker for good. And as the show goes on, Ivy grows just as much—if not more—than Harley.
We get to see Ivy go through two relationships, deal with her past, and slowly evolve into one of the most compelling characters in the entire show—and by the time Season 4 hits, there’s a very real chance she’ll be your favorite character.
Beyond Harley and Ivy, the show also does the favor of putting some of the weirdest and most ridiculous twists on classic DC characters.
The show takes full advantage of the fact that it’s not canon. It takes risks, does absurd things, and remains unpredictable throughout. A clear example of this comes with the Dark Knight himself. While it’s true that Batman barely shows up in the show, when he does, it’s in a meta way that makes him surprisingly hilarious.
But what makes it all even better is that the show doesn’t just focus on the big names. Eventually, you’ll find yourself keeping up with random characters you’ve probably never even heard of—Kite Man, Dr. Psycho, or even Poison Ivy’s elderly ex-war criminal landlord.
Overall, what makes Harley Quinn special is the fact that it knows exactly what it is. There’s a certain meta energy to Harley Quinn, but not in the way that most shows try to be meta today.
The show doesn’t rely on breaking the fourth wall all the time, or forcing in self-aware jokes just to be “clever.” Instead, it has an authenticity that makes it fun to watch. It never feels like it’s trying too hard to be vulgar, violent, or witty—it just naturally is those things in the appropriate moments, and that makes all the difference.
The show has a simple but clean animation style, that isn’t overwhelming and works perfectly for the show’s fast-paced storytelling and chaotic energy. And while there are a lot of superhero references within the show itself, another special aspect of it is how low the fence is—you don’t really need to know too much about superheroes to enjoy it.
The Harley Quinn show is not just another superhero show—it’s a show for people who are tired of multiverse gimmicks, the same tired tropes, and endless reboots—it’s for people who want something different.
So enough with all the multiverse nonsense.
The people want to see Bane going to Italy on a pasta arc.
And Harley Quinn delivers.
