CinemaBlend participates in affiliate programs with various companies. We may earn a commission when you click on or make purchases via links.
What could have easily been a cheap attempt at cashing in on the popularity of Margot Robbie’s performance in the DC movies turned out to be one of the most beloved, ongoing DC TV shows at the moment. Despite concerns from fans over its fate, Harley Quinn Season 3 is officially a go and will continue the adventures of the DC villain, as voiced by Kaley Cuoco, whom developers Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacher have reinvented into someone stronger, more independent, and funnier than ever.
After how things left off with the Season 2 finale (which we will get into soon enough), we are sure you have plenty of questions about the hit, adult-oriented, animated series’ return and we have a few good answers, such as a rough estimate as to when you can expect it to premiere on HBO Max.
Harley Quinn Season 3 Could Hit HBO Max Late 2021 Or Early 2022
It was in September 2020 when Kaley Cuoco officially announced the renewal of Harley Quinn for Season 3 through a celebratory Instagram post. Later on, when interviewed for the Masters of None podcast, the DC series’ co-showrunner Justin Halpern revealed that, while there is still no confirmation of when the new episodes will be made available on HBO Max, he projects it might be later in this year, or earlier in the next. Even so, details that vague are a godsend compared to the uncertainty of whether or not the show would even go on after losing its original streaming home.
Harley Quinn Season 3 Will Not Be Streaming On DC Universe
The news of Harley Quinn Season 3 getting the green light also came with news that DC Universe, a streaming platform that specialized in all DC-related movies and TV shows, was getting the boot. Well, more accurately, the service will officially focus entirely on providing subscribers with digital comic books, will no longer carry scripted programming, and is getting a new name, too: DC Universe Infinite. Luckily, Harley Quinn is not following the same fate as the short-lived, but much-loved Swamp Thing, and will go on as an HBO Max exclusive.
Kaley Cuoco Is Returning To The Harley Quinn Cast For Season 3
Considering how the former Big Bang Theory cast member revealed Harley Quinn was coming back in the first place, it comes as no surprise that Kaley Cuoco is reprising her role as the title character, no matter how asinine rumors of a feud with live-action Harley Quinn actress, Margot Robbie, came about. At the moment, no one else from the Harley Quinn voice cast (such as Alan Tudyk as Clayface, Ron Funches as King Shark, or Diedrich Bader as Batman, to name a few) has been confirmed to make a return for Season 3, but we can infer that Lake Bell is coming back as Poison Ivy for reasons we reasons we will get into in a moment. There are also very few details regarding any new voices being added to the cast, except for one.
Sam Richardson Is Joining The Harley Quinn Season 3 Cast
Comedian Sam Richardson has become known for a number of different things, from the Netflix original sketch comedy I Think You Should Leave, to the Amazon Prime exclusive sci-fi action thriller The Tomorrow War, to hoping he could be considered for the role of Hank “Beast” McCoy when Marvel Studios reboots the X-Men franchise. In May 2021, Harley Quinn co-showrunner Patrick Schumacker took a moment to voice his approval of that possible choice in a Tweet that also revealed Richardson is voicing an undisclosed character in the upcoming third season. The casting addition could likely see Richardson, who also voices Gary on the Hulu exclusive Marvel series M.O.D.O.K., reuniting with his Veep cast co-star Tony Hale, who plays multiple characters on Harley Quinn - including, most frequently, Dr. Psycho.
Harley Quinn Season 3 Will Continue To Explore Harley and Ivy’s Romance
Actress, writer, and filmmaker Lake Bell has also played more than one character on Harley Quinn, but the one and only constant has been Poison Ivy - a fellow Arkham Asylum escapee who became best friends with the titular clown princess of crime, until they became something more. The Harley Quinn Season 2 finale saw the Batman villain formerly known as Pamela Isley getting dumped by her fiancé, Kite Man, allowing she and Harley to finally admit their honest, mutual feelings toward one another. When he and Patrick Schumacker spoke to Deadline about their plans for Season 3, Justin Halpern assured that the romance will be a driving force in the following excerpt:
The first season was all about Harley figuring out what her identity was without The Joker, and that was why we didn’t do any dating stories… And in the second season, Harley ultimately realizes that she wants to be with Ivy, and explore a relationship with her. So, I think in the third season, the general idea we’ve been talking about… and the room hasn’t even started yet. These are just conversations between Dean Lorey, and myself and Patrick. [But] the idea [is], when you’ve mostly been in toxic and bad relationships your whole life, how do you then be in a good one? How does the baggage that you bring from all these other relationships affect the relationship you’re in that you really want to work?
One of the reasons why the Harley Quinn renewal was so relieving for many fans was being able to see how Harley and Ivy will grow (no pun intended) as a couple. At least there will still be some DC characters getting a chance for romance on Season 3.
Harley Quinn Season 3 Will NOT Include A Now Infamous Batman/Catwoman Moment
One of the biggest stories surrounding Harley Quinn as of late has nothing to do with what we will see on Season 3, but one we will not be able to see. I am referring to an intimate encounter between Batman and his off-and-on, anti-heroic lover, Catwoman (Sanaa Lathan), that the higher-ups at DCs refused to allow on the show. Justin Halpern described the scene and the reason for the censorship in the following Variety article excerpt:
It’s incredibly gratifying and free to be using characters that are considered villains because you just have so much more leeway. A perfect example of that is in this third season of Harley [when] we had a moment where Batman was going down on Catwoman. And DC was like, ‘You can’t do that. You absolutely cannot do that.’ They’re like, ‘Heroes don’t do that.’ So, we said, ‘Are you saying heroes are just selfish lovers?’ They were like, ‘No, it’s that we sell consumer toys for heroes. It’s hard to sell a toy if Batman is also going down on someone.'
I can see why the depiction of Batman performing on Catwoman might raise concerns from a merchandising perspective, but I also think it is widely understood that the target demographic for superhero toys should not be watching the raunchy, hyper-violent, foul-mouthed Harley Quinn, anyway. Not to mention, Justice League director Zack Snyder was kind enough of to point out on Twitter that this particular sexual encounter is canon to the source material. Perhaps, when Harley Quinn Season 3 finally premieres, we will find out if the showrunners found another way to honor the tone of the show with the right kind of risky material.
