While many of the DC Universe shows proved to be successful adaptations of the comics upon which they were based, few proved to be as universally beloved as the Harley Quinn animated series. This tongue-in-cheek version of Harley Quinn's world provided heart and humor in equal measure, which, combined with fully-realized characters and snappy dialogue, proved to be a hit with audiences, even those without subscriptions to DC Universe.
Since ending its second season, fans have been waiting to hear about a third season of the hit animated show. With many of DC Universe's original programming jumping ship to HBO Max or the CW, it would seem like a logical decision for a third season of Harley Quinn -- which has yet to be announced as of writing -- to appear not on DC Universe but rather on the larger and more popular HBO Max streaming service.
The Limited Lifespan of DC Universe
It is clear that Harley Quinn is not enough to keep the DC Universe streaming service alive. The service has struggled to bring in an audience since its inception, being too expensive while offering too small a library of content. With the addition of HBO Max, it would make more sense for Warner Bros. and AT&T to consolidate their multiple properties into one streaming service, rather than create two streaming services that exist in direct competition with one another.
With Doom Patrol's second season being put onto the HBO Max service rather than just DC Universe, many fans suspected the streaming service's lifespan was limited. Then, Stargirl made the jump to CW. It remains highly possible that the future for DC Universe is finite, with the app already sharing many properties on HBO Max. A potential Season 3 of Harley Quinn, if the streaming service ends, will probably end up on HBO Max as well, especially since the past seasons are available there already.
Reaching a Larger Audience
Adult animation has found its audience on HBO Max. Alongside the Studio Ghibli library and shows licensed under the Warner Bros. brand, like South Park, HBO Max has original animation for adults as well, like Close Enough. Adult Swim has even commented on the possibility for the recently canceled Venture Bros to be revived in some fashion, with a revival on HBO Max being a potential solution.
However, none of these shows have achieved the immediate and rapid success Harley Quinn has made. Despite Harley Quinn being on a relatively smaller streaming service, it has garnered a large fan-base thanks to positive word-of-mouth, as well as a brief run on SyFy. It simply makes sense for Harley Quinn to appear on HBO Max, as that would allow a larger audience to be able to legally stream the series and see what all the fuss is about.
For Warner Bros. and AT&T, Harley Quinn might push people debating getting HBO Max into starting up a subscription. This can only be of benefit to the success of the HBO Max service, which is competing with an already crowded field of streaming services, including Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime.
Harley Quinn's revival on the new platform, much like Doom Patrol, can serve to benefit itself, finding a larger audience who might have only heard of it before. However, the more appealing aspect to corporate could be that, in the current vacancy of original content, it could be a draw for their streaming service. There simply is no downside to this arrangement.