Throughout the history of television, spinoffs have been very hit or miss. Incredibly successful shows such as Perfect Strangers, Happy Days, and All In The Family spawned Family Matters, Mork & Mindy, and The Jeffersons. However, fan-favorite series like The Golden Girls, Friends, and Happy Days led to The Golden Palace, Joey, and Joanie Loves Chachi. So when the offshoot of HBO’s acclaimed animated series Harley Quinn decided to expand their corner of the DC Universe with Kite Man: Hell Yeah!, they certainly had big shoes to fill when the upcoming show was described as Cheers for supervillains. But with spinoffs on our minds; many wondered if we would end up with a delightfully evil Frasier or an even bigger flop than The Tortellis. Now, thanks to the two-episode series premiere, we finally have our answer. 

In this all-new series, Matt Oberg reprises his Harley Quinn role as the titular naive-yet-endearing D-list supervillain. He manages to save his favorite bar from destruction at the hands of Lex Luthor and the Legion of Doom by purchasing it for way more than it’s worth. Along with his new girlfriend, Golden Glider, Kite Man must find a way to keep the booze flowing at Noonan’s while the most dangerous and destructive rogues from Gotham and beyond make their way through the doors. 

Despite the comparisons to Cheers, Kite Man is no Sam “Mayday” Malone. Furthermore, the show is a far cry from the quality of Dr. Frasier Crane’s adventures in Seattle (or even back to Boston for that matter). Although, I won’t go as far as to say that this show is as bad as the one following Carla Tortilla’s no-good, sleazy ex-husband. Instead, I’ll say that Kite Man: Hell Yeah! is to Harley Quinn as Wings is to Cheers. That is to say, it’s a perfectly middle-of-the-road sitcom set in a universe we love. Even though it’s mostly filled with new characters that we haven’t grown to know and love just yet; I would say that this is a show that I’m willing to give a chance. 

Let’s Go Fly A Kite

One of the biggest reasons why I want to see where this goes is because the cast is so great. Aside from Oberg, Everything Everywhere All At Once and Joy Ride star Stephanie Hsu shines as Golden Glider. Her performance perfectly mixes the sweet and supportive girlfriend next door with a tinge of unhinged. Janelle James of Abbott Elementary fame and the late, great Lance Reddick take over the roles of The Queen of Fables and Lex Luthor, respectively, and they totally nail the characters. Just as James frequently steals a scene as Principal Ava Coleman; she continues to do so as the bodiless embodiment of folktale evil. And of course, with the addition of James Adman’s Bane to the cast as the bouncer of the bar, the audience is treated to more of the bumbling absurdity that has become such a beloved trademark of this version of the character. 

As far as the writing goes, the team behind this show definitely knows their classic sitcom tropes. They have also mastered the raunchy, outrageous, and messed up superhero violence thanks to the original series. But after a fairly fun pilot that seemingly set up a much bigger threat than we initially anticipated, the second episode quickly slips into familiar territory. Not that there’s anything wrong with that because certain stories are tried and true for a reason, but it seemed to undermine what was set up in the first episode. Of course, we still have 8 more episodes to go before the season finale, so it is very possible for things to swing back around. 

After watching two episodes of Kite Man: Hell Yeah!, it doesn’t seem like the time to say hell no just yet. Again, there are some really fun elements to this show. It may not always hit the high bar set by Harley Quinn, but it all really goes back to the leads. Just like Sam and Diane, I feel like the world will fall in love with Kite Man and Golden Glider no matter what kind of adventures they get into this season. And that should be enough to keep the freshman series in the air for now.

The two-episode season premiere of Kite Man: Hell Yeah! premieres on July 18, 2024 with new episodes dropping every Thursday on Max.

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