DC Universe's Harley Quinn is a gloriously foul-mouthed and blood-spattered adult cartoon

The Hollywood Reporter

"Harley Quinn is the story of what happens when a woman's ego happens to be as inflated as any mediocre man's," says Robyn Bahr of the DC Universe animated series premiering Friday. "It's one of the best surprises of the year." Bahr adds: "In 13 zippy, violent and irreverent half-hour episodes, we're introduced to lovesick Harley, a minor sidekick in unbecoming pantomime garb, who soon breaks free from her toxic romance with narcissist Joker (Alan Tudyk) to branch out on her own (complete with a sexy makeover to embody Margot Robbie's bat-wielding-in-short-shorts version of the character). Harley, a former practicing therapist, bursts with lava-hot anger, and her addiction to her own temper ends up her Achilles heel in most episodes. She's a great protagonist because she makes bad decisions and maintains unhealthy goals. Honestly, it's a refreshing set of vices for a cartoon female lead."

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• Harley Quinn dips down into tasteless, lazy gags rather than telling an interesting story: "That’s Harley Quinn—a series of bits that hope you will be so drawn in by the violence and vulgarity that you’ll be tricked into believing there is anything interesting there," says Princess Weekes. "Sadly, there isn’t, and part of the reason is that this series feels dated. It doesn’t seem to understand its characters well and the jokes are carried by the delivery of the actors, not good writing. I watched the entire series to see if maybe I was missing out on something or to see if there was an overarching plot that, while not working for me, would make this entire show worth checking out."
• Harley Quinn is hilarious and heartwarming: "Basically, no matter who you are and where you fall on the Harley Quinn fan meter, DC Universe’s newest animated show will give you lots to love, lots to laugh about and more than a few moments of 'holy sh*t, I can’t believe this show just did that,'" says Lelanie Seyffer. "This show is another fantastic example of the kind of high quality we’re used to seeing from DC Animated ventures."
• It's rewarding to see an animated riot like DC Universe’s Harley Quinn build itself so soundly on Harley’s potential instead of just her penchant for mayhem
• Harley Quinn is a very R-Rated animated series that successfully takes the piss out of the entire Batman mythos
• The idea of Harley having to establish an identity separate from the Joker was a core part of their plan from the beginning
• DC Universe gave showrunners Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker free reign to do what they want: "Yeah, I mean, they, DC was pretty awesome, they were just like look, this is your universe to play in, it’s animated, so it’s not gonna infringe upon anything we’re doing in live-action," says Halpern. "From the start of the show, I have to give them so much credit, they were like, “just make the show funny, and we’ll worry about, on a case by case basis, we’ll worry about if things are pushing the line, and we’ll tell you.” And so, they were great about it. I’ve never had more free rein on any show we’ve done, it was liberating."