Patrick Schumacker (Powerless, iZombie), showrunner of DC Universe’s Harley Quinn, gave fans of the animated series an exciting update on Twitter yesterday. The writer and producer, who showruns Harley Quinn alongside Justin Halpern (Powerless, iZombie), confirmed that voice actors have returned to the studio to record dialogue for the show’s upcoming third season on HBO Max.
The series, which found new home on HBO Max in 2020, stars Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory, The Flight Attendant) as the titular Harley Quinn, a fan-favorite member of Batman’s rogues gallery first introduced in Batman: The Animated Series. Lake Bell (Bless This Mess, In a World…) co-stars as Harley Quinn’s partner in life and crime, Poison Ivy. The adaptation of Quinn and Ivy’s romantic relationship from the comic books has earned the series a 2021 GLAAD nomination.
Neither Cuoco nor Bell were mentioned in Schumacker’s tweet about the show’s season three production, though he did share that supporting cast members have begun their voice work on the series. Schumacker specifically referenced the returns of Diedrich Bader (American Housewife, Veep) as Batman, Jim Rash (Community, The Way Way Back) as The Riddler and Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Happy!) as Jim Gordon.
In a follow-up tweet, Schumacker reiterated his gratitude for HBO Max, who picked up the series last year. Prior to finding home at the streaming service, it was unclear whether the animated series would see a season three pick-up. According to Comicbook, Schumacker and Halpern had started to develop ideas for a follow-up movie, in the event that Harley Quinn did not receive a third season.
Unlike the first two seasons of Harley Quinn, which were filmed back-to-back, season three is being produced on its own with no confirmation yet of a fourth season. Despite production getting underway this week, it’s still unclear when the third season of Harley Quinn will be made available to fans on HBO Max.
COVID-19 has slowed the production of many series and likewise forced adaptation on sets, and Harley Quinn is no exception. A fan of the series responded to Schumaker’s Monday announcement by quote-tweeting one of the showrunner’s previous statements explaining how Bader recorded parts of Batman’s dialogue from his closet at home as result of quarantining. Bader informed the fan that Warner Bros. provided him a microphone for for season three, via Twitter. It’s not been disclosed how much of Harley Quinn‘s third season will be recorded in a formal studio atmosphere versus an off-site setup, as a result of COVD-19.
Despite the strains that the pandemic has put on most Hollywood productions, Comicbook states that Schumaker remains optimistic that season three of Harley Quinn will see a 2021 premiere date. For now, fans of The Clown Princess of Crime can stream the first two seasons of Harley Quinn on HBO Max alongside other DC Universe series.