‘Harley Quinn’ Animated Spinoff Nabs HBO Max Pickup – The Hollywood Reporter
HBO Max continues to build out the worlds of its most popular offerings.
The Warner Bros. Discovery-backed streamer has handed out a straight-to-series order for Noonan’s, a spinoff of its animated Harley Quinn series.
The 10-episode adult animated comedy revolves around lovable loser Kite Man and his new squeeze Golden Glider as they moonlight as criminals to support their foolish purchase of Noonan’s, Gotham’s seediest dive bar, where everybody knows your name, but not necessarily your secret identity! Matt Oberg will lead the voice cast as Kite Man.
The series pickup arrives as the third season of Harley Quinn — led by voice cast star and exec producer Kaley Cuoco — returns in the summer. The series has become a cult hit after originally launching on DC Universe. After the comic book-based streamer ditched originals, the series was moved to HBO Max, where the one-time bubble comedy continued to grow and earn critical praise.
Noonan’s hails from Harley Quinn showrunners Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker, who exec produce alongside Sam Register, Dean Lorey and Cuoco. Dean Lorey serves as showrunner. The series that is based on characters from DC Comics hails from Warner Bros. Television, where Cuoco, Halpern and Schumacker are all under overall deals. It’s produced by Delicious Non-Sequitur and Yes, Norman Productions in association with Warner Bros. Animation.
“We love the wild and fun world of Harley Quinn so much we just had to make a spinoff and who better to center it around than the outcast Kite Man. Justin, Patrick, and Dean have created the perfect local hangout for Gotham City’s not-so-finest at Noonan’s, where bar patrons can blow off steam after a long day of mayhem,” said Suzanna Makkos, exec vp comedy and adult animation at HBO Max.
Noonan’s marks the latest brand extension for a property at HBO Max. The platform is also working on a TV spinoff of Matt Reeves’ The Batman, and features a roster of originals that also includes Sex and the City offshoot And Just Like That, new takes on Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars, among others.
Adult-leaning animated shows have become a key part of streaming platforms as they repeat well and, in success, can lead to multibillion-dollar branding opportunities.