While New York Comic-Con hasn’t even started yet, DC Universe, the only online streaming service devoted to the world of superheroes, has already made an entrance with a special preview event. Besides screening the premiere of the live action Titans series, there was also an announcement that Kaley Cuoco, currently shooting the final season of The Big Bang Theory, will be voicing the character of the deranged Harley Quinn in a new animated series — plus a trailer in which Kaley, in character, delivers the news. 

The character of Harley Quinn (notably played by Margot Robbie in the live action Suicide Squad film) was first introduced back in the 1990s as part of Batman: The Animated Series by writer Paul Dini and artist Bruce Timm. Over the years she’s been a sidekick and occasional love interest to the Joker, and while she’s absolutely bonkers, he wins (maybe not by much) in the homicidal maniac department. 

“She seemed like a fun character to just throw in there for a few episodes and it was fun to write,” Paul Dini told DC Comics in a video interview. “Bruce Timm came up with a really a tremendous design for her and Arleen Sorkin, my friend, came up with a really great voice for her and it was just one of those fun things. She worked really well with the Joker, and then we dropped her for a few episodes, but then brought her back. And after that, she just seemed to have a little sparkle to her. She wasn’t just a rank and file hench-person. There seemed to be a way to take her in different directions where she and the Joker would have some energy together, which is always what you look for.”

Bruce Timm, in a Syfy Channel video interview, added, “I always knew she was popular, because there have been a lot of toys and I’d go to conventions where there are tons of Harley cosplayers and stuff… So it kind of snuck up on me how popular she is. It’s weird, because a lot of this burgeoning popularity has happened during a time when, for one reason or another, I actually haven’t been really involved with her character, because I was working on other projects. It’s just been kind of interesting to kind of watch from afar how she’s changed and grown in popularity.”

Insofar as Kaley is concerned, she is also serving as one of the producers of the show through her Yes, Norman Productions.

Harley Quinn is expected to premiere in 2019.