Fans of the Harley Quinn animated series have been left puzzled by the show’s absence from Max’s recent fall preview trailer, leading many to ask, “Where is Season 5?” The adult animation was left in limbo for some time before it was confirmed that the Kaley Cuoco-led series would be returning with more wild adventures for Harley and Poison Ivy. While the fifth season was expected to be landing on the platform in November, the trailer for Max upcoming releases excludes the series, sparking concerns from fans about the fate of the new episodes.
While it was once certain that any TV show given the green light would make it to screens, now even completed series and movies can be scrapped at a moment’s notice by studios. Harley Quinn first premiered in 2019, and quickly became one of the best rated shows in DC’s recent animated canon thanks to its NSFW humor and gratuitous violence. However, with many balls being up in the air at DC Studios, the return of the series was never a certain thing, and this latest development has seemingly proved that its release is still not guaranteed.
Led by Cuoco’s energetic vocal performance, the series finds the enigmatic Harley becoming sick of being the girlfriend of the Joker, and taking off on a journey of self-discovery and chaos with the help of Poison Ivy (Lake Bell). Season 4 of Harley Quinn aired in July 2023, and left fans desperately wanting to see the next chapter of Harley and Ivy’s story. Now, it seems they may have to wait even longer than expected.
Has Max Scrapped Harley Quinn? Or is There a Less Final Reason for its Preview Absence?
Harley Quinn’s absence from the MAX fall lineup trailer is certainly worrying for fans, especially given Warner Bros. Discovery’s recent penchant for shelving completed projects. While it is surprising that a series as wildly popular as Harley Quinn has been left out of WBD’s Max advertising, it is not a final death bell for the series, and there could be several reasons why it has not featured in the trailer.
Despite being given an official release window of 2024, and reports suggesting Harley Quinn would hit Max just after Joker: Folie à Deux hit theaters, the poor performance of the movie could well have hindered the animated series’ release. With Lady Gaga’s version of Harley Quinn not exactly setting the world of comic book movie fans alight, it could be possible that DC Studios do not want to throw out another Harley Quinn project – even one as successful as the adult series – until the bad vibes of the film have died down.
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Hopefully, this means that Harley Quinn will still be delivering Season 5 sometime before the end of 2024, and has not landed in the same black hole of projects as Batgirl. One of the biggest reasons that the series may not arrive until 2025 is that James Gunn’s Creature Commandos series is set to drop in December, and it is unlikely that he will want to put out another animated series to take away its shine. Harley Quinn has an impressive 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which makes it almost impossible to believe the show is really in trouble. For now, though, fans are eagerly watching for any sign of Season 5’s release date, and hopefully they won’t be left hanging for too long.