If This, Then That: Venture Bros. & Harley Quinn

The one problem with comparison recommendations is that, every so often, a show comes around that largely defies classification. You can’t quite nail down exactly what it is and every time you attempt to describe it, you fail to capture the feeling it elicits when you watch it. Whether that be because of its delightful eccentricities or eclectic nature, you’re not sure. You just know that it’s good and you hope others hop on the bandwagon.

Adult Swim’s The Venture Bros. has often fallen into this indiscernible category. What began in 2004 as an out-there satire of the Space Age fiction of the 1960s transformed into an action adventure series that mixed dark comedy and light drama by the time it was cancelled in 2018 (pour one out for our fallen fan-favorite). With a deliberately bizarre yet hilarious cast of characters, a deep love of pop culture, a meticulously detailed sense of humor, and a detached and laid-back optimism, The Venture Bros. has long existed as the weird-little-show-that-could. In its absence, many series have tried to fill that askew void and failed. But one special series is succeeding.

HBO Max’s animated Harley Quinn series is the single best piece of content DC has churned out in the DC Extended Universe era. It’s better than Man of Steel, Wonder Woman and Zack Snyder’s Justice League and it’s better than its beloved small screen compatriots in the Arrowverse. How? Why? One last rhetorical question? Because it has somehow figured out how to capture the same ineffable magic of The Venture Bros. while being uproariously hilarious, authentically emotional, and endlessly cheeky. You’re never quite sure exactly what it is, but you know you want more of it.

Harley Quinn—which boasts an all-star voice cast including Kaley Cuoco, Lake Bell, Alan Tudyk, Ron Funches, and more—currently holds a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 82 on Metacritic, in case aggregate review sites are strong selling points for you. But if not, take my word for it.

The series picks up with Harley recovering from her nasty breakup with the Joker—an tough situation we’ve all found ourselves in minus the acid-spewing flowers and clown kink (unless you’re into that; no judgment). While Birds of Prey covered this ground quite well, Harley Quinn does it with a fervent panache that has no equal. The relationship building this series manages to pull off in two gonzo seasons, particularly between Harley and Poison Ivy, is nothing short of remarkable. Wanda and Vision are old news; this is the best Will They-Won’t They on television.

Where the film franchise has been plagued by disorienting whiplash—Batman v Superman is as different from Wonder Woman as Bud Light is from Pinot Noir—and some of the DC TV series feel like they’re missing one last ingredient, Harley Quinn is proudly self-confident in its own ludicrous ambitions. (Seriously, if I had one ounce of this show’s confidence in high school, I’d be an entirely different man today).

With a chaotic vibe and a splash of Daria’s relatable cynicism, the show plows ahead from joke to joke and plot to plot with the forceful adrenaline of a comedian on Adderall. It’s unabashedly ridiculous yet in its own specifically refined way that evokes the antics of an R-rated Looney Tunes with the self-aware meta humor of a higher IQ Deadpool. Creators Justin Halpern, Patrick Schumacker and Dean Lorey have somehow infused the DNA of Jerry Seinfeld’s stream of consciousness with the sharp and vulgar observational skills of Joan Rivers. When Harley Quinn takes aim at a mark with scathing indictment or pointed humor, it always hits the bullseye. No one is safe from this psychotic Robin Hood.

As such, it’s no surprise that HBO Max has ordered a third season (it probably helps that Cuoco stars in another Max hit, The Flight Attendant, that is a critical and commercial win). That means more frenetic shenanigans, more pop culture gags, more deep-dive DC lore that can be appreciated by die-hard fans and casuals alike, and more violent delight. If The Venture Bros. had to have been cancelled, I’m sure it’s up there in TV show heaven smiling down on its spiritual successor.

If you enjoyed this article, you can find Eric's writing over on BroBible.com and his podcasting over on the Post-Credit Podcast.