Undeniably, Gotham has treated us to no shortage of classic Batman villains over the course of its four seasons, with fresh interpretations of the Penguin, Riddler, Scarecrow and Mr. Freeze already having been offered up. In fact, some would argue that the series has played host to the best live action iterations of those very characters.
Obviously, one fan favorite that we’ve all expected to show up at some point is that of Harley Quinn, especially since a proto-Joker, Jerome Valeska (Cameron Monaghan), has stolen the show on more than one occasion. Truth be told, we, like many of you, were expecting Erin Richards’ Barbara Kean to transition to becoming this series’ version of the Clown Princess of Crime, but it simply wasn’t meant to be.
Now, executive producer John Stephens has told CBR that such a thing isn’t in the cards, despite a mountain of evidence pointing toward something going on behind the scenes last season:
“It’s not going to happen. Let’s put it out there. The discussions we’ve been having is – Look, we know Harley Quinn is never going to be on our show.”
Perhaps all that’s going on with Harley being tapped for multiple motion pictures has something to do with this, as Warner Bros. may not want to step on Margot Robbie’s toes. Still, Stephens went to on to add that parallels are drawn between Barbara and Harley, and we certainly wouldn’t rule out her teaming up with Jerome upon his return:
“[T]here are elements of that Harley Quinn personality that we have liked, that sense of fun and anarchy, that we said, ‘Well, we can actually have those qualities embodied in Barbara without actually having to do Harley herself. I think Erin Richards carried it off really well.”
Gotham airs on Thursday nights on Fox. For more, be sure to check out our review of the season premiere.
