Development
On November 20, 2017, it was announced that the then-unnamed DC Universe had ordered 26 episodes of Harley Quinn, a half-hour adult animated action-comedy series created and written by Justin Halpern, Patrick Schumacker and Dean Lorey. Executive producers were set to include Halpern, Schumacker, Lorey, and Sam Register with Jennifer Coyle serving as a producer. Production companies involved in the series were slated to consist of Ehsugadee Productions and Warner Bros. Animation. The first season consists of 13 episodes of the initial 26-episode order. Animation work is provided by NE4U, Digital eMation and Maven Image Platform in South Korea.
In June 2018, it was announced that the series would premiere in 2019. In October, it was further mapped as an October 2019 premiere. It was also reported that Kaley Cuoco would also serve as an executive producer for the series through her production company Yes, Norman Productions.
It was revealed that a second season was produced and consisted of another 13 episodes.
On September 18, 2020, three months after the second-season finale, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a third season, and would move to HBO Max. In February 2021, series creator Patrick Schumacker announced that they had begun recording season 3.
In June 2021, it was revealed that a planned oral sex scene between Catwoman and Batman in season 3 was cut by DC. It was replaced by a scene of Batman not being good at giving Catwoman a foot massage.
Schumacker stated the third season was more difficult to produce, but it will be much simpler not having to create two seasons back to back. Halpern has stated in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that season 3 will explore Harley's reaction to a half healthy relationship with Ivy as well as focusing more on Ivy's backstory as the previous two seasons were mainly focused on Harley. Schumacker said that new writers from the LGBTQ+ community have been hired because of the direction of season 2 and that it is a priority to diversify the staff for season 3. Schumacker also revealed that Dean Lorey would no longer be available to return as showrunner for season 3 and would be replaced by new co-showrunners Chrissy Pietrosh and Jessica Goldstein alongside him and Justin Halpern. Composer Jefferson Friedman revealed there would be a musical episode coming, and also stated that he wanted to refresh the music to give identity for each character. During an interview with Deadline Hollywood, Schumacker stated that his desire was to open season 3 on "an actual Zoom, where the GCPD is just being berated by the city of Gotham for their ineptitude". In February 2021, series creator Patrick Schumacker announced that they had begun recording season 3.
At DC FanDome 2021, Harley, King Shark, and Kite Man previewed some animatic footage from the third season, and announced it would be coming to HBO Max "sometime in 2022".
A comic prequel to season 3 was first released on August 3, 2021, under the title Harley Quinn: The Animated Series – The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour by Tee Franklin (author), Max Sarin (cover art, penciller, inker), and Marissa Louise (colorist), in which Harley takes Ivy on a honeymoon where they face friends they've betrayed, their own feelings about how season 2 ended, and a few villains and heroes along the way. Commissioner Gordon tries to catch them repeatedly, causing Batman and Batgirl to worry about his sanity.
On August 9, 2022, it was announced that a fourth season is in development. On August 31, 2022, HBO Max renewed the series for a fourth season with Sarah Peters promoted to executive producer and showrunner, since Halpern and Schumacker will be busy with Kite Man: Hell Yeah!. On October 7, 2022, it was reported that the series is getting a holiday special called "Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine's Day Special" which was released in February 2023. On November 16, 2023, Max renewed the series for a fifth season, for which, Lorey became showrunner again.
People conducted an interview, on March 11, 2025, discussing what a hypothetical season 6 could be like. Executive producer Dean Lorey told Collider on March 22, 2025 that he hoped that they "stop one season before the wheels fall off," adding that they "have a pretty wonderful idea for what Season 6 would be if we get so lucky" and that they are "excited to continue." He also said that they have "every intention of doing more" and are doing "a lot of work figuring out what that will be." Previously, Lorey said that a sixth season would be "something very different...and...unexpected" and said that they "certainly plan to have more seasons." No formal updates in regards to a potential sixth season have been made as of August 2026.
