Harley Quinn Animated Series Renewed for Season 3 on HBO Max

Rejoice, Harley Quinn fans, because the popular animated series has been renewed for a third season on HBO Max. Fans have been curious about the future of the show after DC FanDome came and went without any big news for more episodes, but now showrunners Patrick Schumacker and Justin Halpern have confirmed they're returning to Gotham City alongside cast members Kaley Cuoco, Lake Bell, and the rest of Harley's gang. The news came along with the revelation that all DC Universe original series would move over to HBO Max, and that the superhero streamer would be rebranded as a comic subscription site known as DC Universe Infinite.

Schumacker and Halpern spoke with ComicBook.com about Harley Quinn's Season 3 renewal, revealing they only learned the news two days ago, and said they have to get to work on the new episodes in earnest.

"We have to fill out the writing staff. Fortunately, quite a few of the writers that were with us for Seasons 1 and 2 are available still, possibly to their chagrin," Schumacker said. "But we are going to be looking for new voices for this season because we will have holes to fill, and new points of view that we will be looking for specifically moving forward. I think that's the immediate step is solidifying who our staff is going to be moving forward."

The two also confirmed that the main cast is all returning.

After an epic sophomore season filled with lots of romantic ups and downs between Harley and Poison Ivy, it's been unclear if DC Universe or HBO Max would be renewing Harley Quinn for a third season. In May, ComicBook.com hosted a Quarantine Watch Party of two of the show's episodes and showrunner Patrick Schumacker confirmed that the series hadn't been picked up yet. Ever since the second season came to a close, fans have been urging DC to renew the show. Thankfully, the second portion of DC's FanDome event finally confirmed that the series will be returning for a third season!

Before knowing whether or not Harley Quinn would be renewed, Schumacker shared some of his season three ideas on Twitter. "Well, I think Harley Season 3* will open with Gothamites on a Zoom screaming obscenities at Commissioner Gordon and his fellow cops. *If we get a season 3," he wrote in June.

During a recent interview with SYFY, showrunner Justin Halpern confirmed that if the show continues, they won't break up Harley and Ivy.

"For us, we wanted to make sure that the characters were in a mentally healthy... it sounds crazy, because it's a silly cartoon where we do lots of sh*t. But we wanted to make sure the characters were in a mentally healthy place where we could do a Season 3 and not have to make it about, 'Are they going to break up? Are they not going to break up?' and just have them be together," Halpern explained. "Putting Harley and Ivy together in our show was always going to be messy, and so we didn't want it to be something that happened quickly. We didn't want anyone to say, 'Oh, they just threw them together just to throw them together. They didn't do the work.'"

He added, "When we were talking about where a third season could go, the first thing we both said is, 'We don't want to do a third season where it feels like the stakes are [whether] Harley and Ivy stay together.' It's much more interesting to do a show about how you navigate these very different personalities being in a relationship. And what are the fun things that can come out of that? What are the outside influences that can make that relationship tough but without the stakes being, 'Are they going to break up? Are they not?' So yeah, if there's a third season, which I hope there will be, the stakes will not be, 'Are Harley and Ivy going to stay together?' They're a couple."

Harley Quinn is available to stream on HBO Max and DC Universe. Season 3 does not yet have a release date, but the producers are hopeful the show will be ready before the end of 2021.