Whether you believe the superhero bubble has burst or not, it’s fair to say that very little in terms of the genre can truly be considered “novel” or “boundary-pushing” anymore … but leave it to “Harley Quinn,” the animated show about some of DC’s baddest villains, to continue bucking that trend. Much like its title character, the streaming series’ arc has hardly been a conventional one. Originally debuting in 2019 on a long-forgotten standalone service known as DC Universe (it wasn’t very impressive, as our review at the time proved), the series survived the move to what was known at the time as HBO Max before finally finding a home on Max. Now running for five seasons strong, “Harley Quinn” is set to take its biggest and boldest swing yet. And, honestly, this should be making much more pop culture noise than it currently is.
For viewers still catching up, you don’t even need to dig very deep to understand the appeal of “Harley Quinn.” Take the show’s ridiculously stacked voice cast, led by a pitch-perfect Kaley Cuoco as Harley and including the likes of Lake Bell, Alan Tudyk, Ron Funches, Tony Hale, Jason Alexander, Giancarlo Esposito, and many, many more putting unique spins on well-worn archetypes. Then there’s the show’s “Take no prisoners” mentality that puts even “Deadpool” and his wisecracking antics to shame, placing everyone from Zack Snyder to James Gunn himself within its target sights. But even beyond all that, the irreverent, foul-mouthed villain at the series’ heart might even rival her live-action counterpart (with all due respect to Margot Robbie and the various filmmakers she’s worked with to bring her version of Harley Quinn to life). Starting the debut season mired in a toxic, codependent relationship with the abusive Joker (Tudyk), her journey has culminated in the rare property with the guts to adapt her torrid romance with fellow supervillain Poison Ivy (Bell).
With season 5 premiering this past January and not merely continuing to click on all cylinders but also shaking up the status quo by moving the action entirely out of Gotham City, it’s about time we gave “Harley Quinn” and its (relatively) under-the-radar joys the flowers they so richly deserve.
Harley Quinn loves DC … even as it satirizes it
Why does “Harley Quinn” work so well while so many other superhero properties in recent years have fallen short? It’s a question I’ve been asking myself ever since I first got sucked into this unique little corner of the DC franchise. I’ve never watched a second of “Peacemaker,” I’m maintaining a healthy dose of skepticism as far as Marvel’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is concerned, and if James Gunn’s “Superman” fails to wow me, well, that just about wraps it up. What’s left to look forward to, beyond Matt Reeves’ perpetually-delayed “The Batman” sequel? And yet I keep coming back to “Harley Quinn,” of all things, year after year.
It certainly isn’t because this crossover-heavy storyline puts the entire DC Universe at our fingertips, allowing any given episode to follow the exploits of a loser like Kite-Man (Matt Oberg), devote huge chunks of a Valentine’s Day special to a super-horny Bane (James Adomian), or focus on Poison Ivy taking over Lex Luthor’s (Esposito) Legion of Doom. After all, despite how promising the “Superman” trailer appears, I feel nothing but sheer exhaustion at the notion of Gunn throwing multiple DC side characters that I don’t care about at us — something I’ve never once experienced while watching “Harley Quinn” pull multiple D-list characters out of its hat. It can’t just be the idea that the medium of animation lends itself so naturally to the world of superheroes and their rogues gallery, as proven so definitively by the “Spider-Verse” movies, though that certainly helps! Indeed, “Harley Quinn” is so in tune with its animation style that it can bend the limits of hyper-violent action and gut-busting laughs in equal measure, finding punchlines and creative thrills that its live-action brethren simply can’t compete with.
No, the secret sauce to “Harley Quinn” is the fact that the series wears its love for DC on its sleeve … even as it viciously satirizes the franchise to within an inch of its life. The dysfunctional Bat-family and Bruce Wayne’s (Diedrich Bader) inability to get over his childhood trauma are a frequent target of jokes, as is Clayface’s (Tudyk) acting ambitions and King Shark’s (Funches) royal responsibilities. At every step of the way, however, these zany detours only reinforce what makes these characters so lovable in the first place — a magic trick that few other rivals have ever pulled off.
Season 5 of Harley Quinn is as hilarious, violent, and heartfelt as ever
Nowhere does “Harley Quinn” display a better balance between its grand ambitions than in Season 5. Only three episodes have aired at the time of this writing, but that’s all the proof we needed to confirm that the creative team led by Justin Halpern, Patrick Schumacker, and Dean Lorey hasn’t lost a single step. Although as sharp and witty as ever, the series continues to find the perfect middle ground between ruthless satire and a beating heart.
In fact, the first three episodes are a fitting showcase for everything this series is capable of. The Season 5 premiere, titled “The Big Apricot,” lives up to the hype by taking Harley and Ivy out of the familiar confines of Gotham City and dumping them into the much more glamorous sister city of Metropolis — a risky move that results in actual consequences and changes. Using the cliché of a long-term couple that has fallen into a rut as a springboard, episode writer Jamiesen Borak and director Diana Huh effortlessly weave together comic book silliness with genuine emotions. In Episode 2, credited writer Leslie Schapira and director Christina Manrique somehow tackle two very different A- and B-stories: one involving Harley Quinn pressed into babysitting for King Shark’s uncontrollable spawn, and another much darker plot centered on a murderous ex from Ivy’s past. Episode 3 then takes its cues from the villain revealed to be “Floronic Man” (voiced by John Slattery) and ups the superhero action considerably, unleashing psychedelic mind-battles and chainsaw-ripping sequences that outclass many of its peers. And that’s with teases involving heavy-hitting characters like Red X (most likely Harvey Guillén’s Dick Grayson), Braniac (Stephen Fry), and more still to come.
Taken as a whole (full disclosure: I’ve watched ahead and can confirm the episodes to come are just as great), “Harley Quinn” Season 5 all but takes a baseball bat to our head and forces us to appreciate a level of quality that we can no longer take for granted. There are superhero shows, and then there are superhero shows actually worth our time and investment. “Harley Quinn” is very much in the latter category, and here’s hoping there will be many more seasons of unapologetic blood, sex, and crimes to come.
New episodes of “Harley Quinn” Season 5 stream on Max every Thursday.