SDCC EXCLUSIVE: Cecilia Aranovich Hamilton & Ian Hamilton Talk the New Season of ‘Harley Quinn’
This Thursday, July 27, the fourth season of Harley Quinn will be released to MAX. To celebrate the release, we got the chance to speak with the show’s Supervising Producers, Cecilia Aranovich Hamilton and Ian Hamilton at San Diego Comic Con.
During the chat, the duo talked about the new season, Harley and Ivy, and so much more. Check out what they had to say below.
On Harley Quinn being the last DC Universe show standing:
Cecilia Aranovich Hamilton: “Well, I think from the very beginning, the show cemented herself as being very successful. I think the fans felt it the first time they watched Harley Quinn, and it was so much fun to see these characters that you know and love, but in such a different way. Like James Gordon, from the beginning of the season, he’s such a different guy, when we put him in the show. Even Batman.
I also think it was that combination of bringing all these famous DC characters and putting them in these very different situations that’s what really clicked with the fans. And I think that’s one of the reasons that it’s still around. I love it.”
Ian Hamilton: “And it’s just wonderful that the people at Max love the show so much that they want to bring it in, and then that James Gunn loved the show so much that wanted to keep it going, and on Max. I think it was just luck, and we’re happy that those people are also fans of the show.”
On being able to push the envelope with this show:
Cecilia Aranovich Hamilton: “At the beginning we had restrictions. When we first started the show, I remember we had a number of F words we could say. I think it was seven or eight per show. That’s it. That was at the beginning. And I think as the show progressed, they were a little more lax with this. But definitely there’s limitations. I need to start with the script, first with an outline, and everybody pitches in, Max, NBC and our development executives at WB. And everybody gives their not
es. And at that stage, that’s the first time that you decide that which direction you’re going to take it.”
On knowing when to stop pushing the envelope:
Cecilia Aranovich Hamilton: “I think sometimes it’s just warranted. When it feels natural I think it’s fine. We are all in that situation that sometimes we drop something or hurt ourselves and are confronted with something that is really bad and you have to swear. But sometimes it does feel like it’s gratuitous, where it’s too much, like they say it too many times in a row. And that’s sometimes the kind of notes that we get. It’s like, oh, they said it three times in one sentence. Maybe we don’t need it that much.”
Ian Hamilton: “And a lot of times you feel it out because the actors do so much improv while they’re in the room. A lot of the cursing comes from if Kaley Cuoco or J.B. Smoove feels like a ‘fuck’ belongs there, that’s usually a lot of the ones that get checkered in. That’s why you can’t go based on a counter because they’ll feel it while they’re giving it. If they think you can get a laugh out of dropping a word here or there, you usually want to be like, well, this is funny. We’re not going to clean this up. And they’ll feel it. They’re like, oh, this fucking fuck fuck fuck. They’re like, okay, maybe let’s pull back on it here.”
On how many takes it takes for the actors to record their lines:
Cecilia Aranovich Hamilton: “Well, we usually have different takes. When the actors record it’s not just usually not one and it’s good. I think maybe that’s with Kaley. Kaley is really good and she knows the characters so well that at this point pretty much one take and it’s done. But with a lot of the other actors, we usually have several takes. And if there’s one take where it’s too much cussing we would just choose whichever take fits better.”
Ian Hamilton: “They normally feel it in the room while they’re going on a run. They’ll feel it.”
On who else is in the room with the actor when they are recording:
Ian Hamilton: “There’s a director in there and usually there’s a writer or the showrunner or an executive producer also in the room. But I think the actors themselves, they’re all such pros. They’re accustomed to it.”
On the new season:
Cecilia Aranovich Hamilton: “We have some new characters. We have some new locations. We really expanded out of Gotham this season. We’re going to go to Vegas. We’re going to take our characters to Vegas where Clayface has a new show, so he’s kind of like a diva, a little bit of a diva role there. And we’re also going to go to the moon, where Lex hasan evil convention. And then also, and I think the fans are going to love this, but for the fans that have followed Bane’s pasta maker saga-they’re in for a treat. It’s definitely, we’re going to go there. We’re going to go to Italy, and it’s like Bane is going to be in search for the best pasta maker, so it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
On how they map out a season:
Cecilia Aranovich Hamilton: “Well, I think it started with Harley, and we’re always following Harley. And now it’s… We made a joke at the beginning of season three because it’s almost like the Harley and Ivy show, because now Harley and Ivy are together and they’re almost like a unit. They’re a couple.”
On if Harley and Ivy are in it for the long haul:
Cecilia Aranovich Hamilton: “I think they will always stay a couple. As I mentioned during the panel, our executive producers were always very clear that they did not want to break them up, that we weren’t going to really play on the will they break up, will they get back together? That wasn’t really a question. What we’re trying to do is see how they grow in their relationship and how they have to face some obstacles in every season and how they learn from them, grow stronger as a couple.”
Ian Hamilton: “And we do treat the characters as strong a couple as Superman and Lois Lane. They are together forever, even if their world’s take her apart. And this season, to your question, is you explore the villain world through the L.O.D. from Ivy being in charge of that, and you explore the hero world through the Bat family for Harley Quinn, and just seeing how those sort of dynamics can bring them apart. But ultimately Harley and Ivy are together and it’s going to be them against the world.”
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity