The Ringer-Verse - The 2025 Confidence Pool (TV Edition) Plus Creature Comandos's Dean Lorey | Mint Edition

Episode Date: January 18, 2025

Jomi and Steve are joined by Daniel Chin for part two of their 2025 confidence pool! This episode focuses on TV shows with high anticipation. Later, Jomi interviews 'Creature Commandos' and 'Harley Quinn" Season 5 show runner Dean Lorey! Hosts: Jomi Adeniran and Steve Ahlman Guests: Daniel Chin and Dean Lorey Producer: Jonathan Kermah Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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into the Ringerverse. Oh my God, you guys, it's been so long. I'm Steve Momus. I'm Jimmy Dinner on. And guess what? Mint Edition is back. Oh, what? Back to Pack days? Oh, my goodness. Is this a fake video? Oh, Lordy. It's not a video at all, actually. It's a podcast. I know. We're on TV right now? Absolutely not.

Well, guess what? The confidence meter has been absolutely blown out. And guess what? Whoa. We're back again, and we're here to give you the Saturday edition of TV of 2025 that we're excited for, in this year of our Lord 2020. And we have the Confidence Meter TV edition with the great Daniel Chin.

We got into Severance, we got into The Last of Us, we talked about Gen V, a bunch of other things. This was one of the longest pawns we've ever done, so we split it up and gave it to you guys in two great parts. We also have a special surprise

and an interview for you guys. Joey, you want to talk about that? We got to talk to talk. to Dean Lorry. That's right. The co-creator of Creature Commandos and the showrunner for Harley Quinn. Talk to him about a lot of fun stuff. You guys don't want to miss this.

Recorded it a minute ago, but because of what's going on in LA, we had to hold it for a little bit. But we wanted to get it out there for y'all because we learned a lot of cool stuff about what it's like to work with James Gunn, the future of some of the DC animated projects. and one thing that Dean Lurie absolutely wants to make that I've already green late in my heart. So guys, stay tuned for that. It's so much fun. You're going to love it. We're going to love it.

You're going to love it. So let's get into our talk with DC about the TV that comes out this year. Okay, moving on to the TV portion of this already beefy pod. I'm excited for this, Severance Season 2. Severn's season 1 is probably one of my most excited, anticipated shows ever. DC currently on the Severance beat for the ringer.com. What a great website. Giving us our recaps on the written website.

Check him out. Don't spoil anything for season two, but I love season one. I'm incredibly excited for season two. This is going to be a 10 for me. I'm like so, so, so excited and so confident that this will not let me down because if it does, I'll be a shell of myself.

Jomi. Ten, this is, waiting in how many years, three years for this show? Eight million years. So, like, it's hype. It's that they were in, like, the box that, uh, uh, what's it called? Yeah, Grand Central. Grand Central Station.

Great, great marketing. Yeah. It's just, yeah, it's a 10. I don't know how you scored anything other than a 10. Hell yeah. Yeah. No, agreed. It's definitely a 10 for me.

I've only seen the, the first two episodes because I'm, I'm, we're doing like a team, team effort at the ringer in terms of the recap. So I'm, I'm only recapping a, a couple of them. But I didn't want to get too far ahead and like, because there's always, like some theorizing involved in these recaps too and just I didn't want to get ahead of myself but from the first

two episodes it's awesome. This show the concept of this show had the execution of it everything is amazing so it's definitely a 10 for me all right moving on to Disney pluse friendly neighborhood Spider-Man I don't like the look at this guys a long a long pause

I don't like the look of this but in terms of the animation style The animation style. It looks like it was made in Blender, but by a four-year-old. And then put in a blender. Damn. Damn. No.

I don't, like, brother man, like, I don't know to tell you. I think it has some interesting concepts. I think, like, because some of the stuff, like, he's a streamer now. And you see, like, remember the scene where, it's in the trailer where he gets, somebody gets hit the brick. And then, like, just, like, the comic panel stuff. Like, yeah, it's, it could be cool. It just does not look finished. It just doesn't look finished.

Hey, Norman. officer born's got the waves back. Yeah, he's black. In voice by Coleman Domingo. Yeah. You know what I mean? That's cool. Is he really?

Yeah. Yeah. I think the story could be fun, but like, man, I don't know. Here's the thing. Does it look better than what if? Yes. No, it does not. I feel like it's on par with me.

I don't know. Dog, this looks, I'm not going to say her, I'm not going to say like, what if was out here doing, like, Prime One Piece. No, I'm saying, Judicial, guy's in type stuff, right? Let me. calm down. But what if looks decent?

Like the last, I'm, DC you watched season three. The last fight scene in episode eight, it was cool. You know what I'm saying? It wasn't nothing to write home about, but it was like, okay, I see y'all,

y'all up the budget like 10 cents for this one. I see what's going on. Whatever they've got going on in friendly neighbor and Spider-Man brother, they took the 10 cents that they gave to, uh, what if to up their budget that's all they had that's all they had for friendly neighbors by the man was the was uh scrooge's scrooge's the scrooge muck's first dime that's it that's all they had bro

it does not look good at all i am going to do my best to look past it because i'm i want to you want to be able to judge you know i want to give it a shot right i don't want to be like it looks bad i'm i'm i hate it what if i love it what if i'm like yo this is fantastic and it just you know what I mean? But just on first impressions, brother, man, it looks dog water, man. I don't know what else to say. Yeah, it'll be a six for me. It's a five, man.

I just can't. I just, God, really looks bad, man. Yeah, I'm at a five, too. I don't really, the animation style, I'm not really a big fan of. I don't feel as strongly about this as you do, Jomey, but I also just, there's nothing about it so far that it's made me confident that it's going to be a really good one. And I think, like, Marvel animation still has a lot.

to prove to me. I mean, X-Men 97's awesome, but it's also, like, riding on the coattails of the 90s show, too, a little bit. So, all right, let's bring it into White Lotus Season 3. I mean, this is kind of the biggest of layups for here. Like, White Lotus is, like, peak TV for me. Walton Goggins, uh, that's a Ted. I saw Yaya say, Wongog's in it. I'll be there no matter what. That's a 10. Easy for me. Uh, this is going to be a nice. Mike White, if you can do this again, you're one of the goats. Do you see?

I'm at an eight. I think it is a little tricky to keep on extending this concept and trying to, like you said, I mean, if he does it again, that's amazing. But I do think it gets trickier to keep applying this concept and for it to be as, as good each time. So we'll see. But I really like the new cast as well, too. So we got like the leftovers reunion with, with Carrie Coon and Scott Glenn.

We got, we got, uh, Lucius Malfoy in there. Like, I'm, I'm excited to see some, some things here. Love it. Uh, right. Riddle me this, D.C. Invincible season three. Hmm. That's, I, I, I, actually, I liked season two.

Um, and I'm glad that we didn't have to wait as long for season three. Yeah. Yeah, that's, yeah, they learned. That's a huge, that's a huge part of it. That's definitely a big part of it. I'd say I'm at a, I'm at eight. Like, I, like, I love the Invincible Comics, and, uh, I, I think that they've, they've been doing a really, really solid job with this show.

So I'm, I'm definitely looking forward to it and think that it's, it's going to be at least, at least about the same. Okay. All right. It's going to be a six for me. I really don't know if the, if they still got the gas, but I, like, the story will be compelling for sure, especially for season three, at least where I think that this is going to be landing.

it's just I think they really need to like course correct after season two for me Jomey what do you think I'm gonna go at 8 I've read the comics so I kind of know where this story's going

there is gas on the tank man there's some storylines yeah there's a lot no the stories are gonna be great dude I mean if they could pull it off there is a level we talked about it with amazing or friendly neighbor with Spider-Man you get up that budget man

I need you know I mean, like, the fight scenes have so much potential, but they're not, you know, what they need to be, you know, and so you hope that with the stakes getting raised in the show that they can amp up the level of intensity for those, but I just think there's so much meat on that bone, so much, like, exciting stuff. And they're, like, switching stuff, you know, for the TV show. So I'm interested to see how that goes as well. So I'm a, this is a show I really enjoy. I really wish they didn't take that break in season middle season two. It really, really hurt them. It hurt them like none other. Then

after being gone, after season one, I understand, like, we're trying to be better about, you know, making lives better for animators. And I 100% support that at every level. But it's like, yo, three years between seasons? You know what I'm saying? That's tough. It's tough. It's tough to build momentum when you're, you know, taking it all the way at that point. So hopefully they can keep keep us, you know, hopefully we can keep getting content on the regular from this world

because it's so exciting, so interesting. So it's an A for me. I can't wait to see what happens. I mean, I know what happens, but I can't wait to see how they make it happen on the TV show. Right there, let's do it. All right. Daredevil, born again.

It's coming up very soon. We finally got our official trailer for it. I think my confidence is not shaky, but it's coasting for right now. I think that we really just got to see. And we said it on the Midnight Boys the other day that this is not like a, I don't think this is make or break,

but like if you don't land this, I think we know who the problem is at this point. That's the main concern that I have here. But I'm confident that we can at least have some fun with it. So this will be a seven for me. I think I'm got to go with the nine. Oh, well. So here's the thing.

We're making real TV again. That's what this is. That's what this is. Right. Y'all are going to be mad at me, but I get on here and talk about A's and Shield how it operated. Serial television. You come in, you watch an episode. There was an overarching plot in the season.

But week to week, you had storylines and things that would develop and it happened. Right? It's not just a movie. cut into six parts, it's a thing that's designed to keep your attention for nine weeks based on an overarching plot

with Matt and whatever he's got going on and then things that happen week to week that can keep you engaged. That's where we need to be. That's where Marvel TV has to come to. We talked about it again on the pod on Wednesday. It's just like, they can make

actual television, just make good actual television. Like, you can't, I want to say like they're back. It's not like they, you know, reinvents the wheel or anything, but it's like, okay, you have understanding how this works now.

Now, let's just keep applying it to other stuff. So hopefully this is good, but I am really excited because you go back, you don't go back after shooting six episodes, scrap it all, and then redo it again to give us some garbage. I don't think that's where it's at.

So I got to be here. Certainly hope not. Yeah. Who knows at this point? Yeah. No, I think those are good points. I'm at a seven. I think,

I'm hoping the same thing, Jomi, where if they really went back after scrapping it and re-approached this with a new mentality with new revamped TV model that Marvel's doing, I'm hoping that it's going to be better. I think for me, honestly, the

fact that we've seen Kingpin and Daredevil in a bunch of different Marvel projects at this point has had a negative effect on me where I'm getting less excited for it at this point. I loved the Netflix Daredevil series. And I'm very excited for this to be back and for a lot of the cast members to be coming back.

But in terms of confidence, it's definitely lower because Marvel TV just hasn't proven that to me, I feel like, in recent years. Very fair. Very fair. All right, moving on. Next TV show that we have is Last of Us Season 2. This is a 10.

No, actually, no, it's not. Why did I say it like that? This is an eight, actually. I have every confidence that this will be not only faithful but an exciting interpretation of the game,

I just am very curious because they're on record by saying that they're going to be chronicling the events of the second game split across two seasons. They go with that with the outset and there will be a season three.

There's a very important, and I will not spoil anything here, but there's a very important thing that needs to happen in this show in the events of the second game that I think is kind of going to be the narrative linchpin for how that story is told. And the last of a season one was quite daring and interesting in the ways that it chose to highlight and invoke the same themes of the game while still having its own unique spin on

that story. I think that the important thing that happens in the events of the second game without talking about it too much. in my opinion, in the ways that I can only think of, have to happen in a certain way. Obviously, I'm open to that being different, but it's going to be a master's stroke to make that something different.

I can easily see shows doing stuff like that and not fully executing on it. It's got to be a very, very compelling way to change the story or make it even the same presentation that we all know of what's coming for those that do. This is going to be

at an eight for me because I think that again, kind of like Wicked for good, I fear change. I fear too drastic of a change.

That's really all where I'm sitting on with that. Do I think it's going to be great? Absolutely. It'll be the talk of the town.

Jomi, where are you at? I'm an eight. You talk about the thing that needs to happen. I mean, it's going to happen. I think... It'll happen. I think do you end

the season with that, though? I don't think you end a season with that. See, and that's how you no ball. Why would you start with that? Because the game started with that.

Why would not? It doesn't happen. It happened what? The first like what? It happens in the game equivalent of like the first 10, like, if that happens, how many hours? Here's what I'll say. But how many hours to the game? Does that happen? It happens like maybe like two hours in. Two hours in, right? You could do that. I say that if it doesn't, you lose, you will lose people. But that's the point of the game. But that's not the point of the game. But that's not the point the show. If I'm making the show, and I know this is a, this is a risk of all risks.

You could do it. I'm not saying that, I'm not going to sit here and say like, they shouldn't do it. You could do it. But what's more impactful to do that in the season premiere or do that in the season finale, right? Because then you've had six episodes, six, seven episodes be like, look, you know what I'm saying? Here's what the dynamic is. here's what's going on. You let people know,

next time you see this in the next year, it'll be different. Do it. Episode one, episode two. Sure. All right, you got five episodes. And I borderline feel testy

about even talking about it this much because giving it this much I was going to feel like a spoiler as much. I was going to say it's really funny. I mean, it's a video game that came out 40 years ago. I understand that. But again,

but the people that just want to watch the show, they can just watch the show. Yeah, but I'm just saying that there's probably, there is likely going to be something like very impactful that happens and it's all dependent on when it happens. And the story that like I like about like to me, it's what makes the story of the second game to me better than the first.

And I think that that's kind of very precious to me and the fact that it has to be a bit more, this season has to be a bit more cold. This has to be a lot more of a disorienting level of storytelling that people have to have confidence in and that's hard to do. It's very hard to do. I'm confident that they're going to try it the best way that they can

and they could give us an amazing episode of television if they do. But I'm sat. I'm ready. I'm locked in. DC, give us your score. I'm at a nine. I think that you guys are making really good points about the challenges that this season has. And I think it's even harder

just knowing how like unbelievably toxic the discourse was at the time that this game came out. Oh and it's going to be so bad this time. And it's going to be tough. It's going to be tough this time too. That's my only fear around it. That's my only hesitancy. But in terms of like if I'm going to enjoy this show,

I'm like fairly confident. Like I'm very confident rather that it's going to be good. And I'm really excited to see the ways that they're going to expand it. Like having people like Jeffrey Wright come back and like have like a bigger role in it. I think is going to be. I'm, like, so excited to see that part of it. And they did a really good job with the first season.

So I'm really curious to see how they do this. And then also how they, like, split it up into multiple seasons as well. Yeah. And or season two. This is the easiest 10 that I've ever given. We can, we'll go back to the Krispy Cream Glaze Awards later when Midnight Boys covers this again. But, like, I don't, I literally see nothing.

I see nothing to think that this won't be great. Yeah, I'm obviously at a time. 10 DC. Like, I'm interested to see where you at because we talk about we glaze Andor all the time.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like one of our tenants. Andor is probably like my favorite Star Wars thing ever. Um, but I will say that I'm only at a nine

comparatively because I do worry that the critical reaction was so high to the first season that there, there might be some temptation to try to, like, loop in other agendas at, at Disney. in Star Wars because I don't think that

everything else around it has been nearly as good as Andor. So the fact that this is so good just makes me a little bit concerned. That's the only little part of it. That's fair. I don't know if that makes sense, but that's the way I do. No, no, it does. Absolutely does. I think the the gas for Andor

feels insurmountable coming into season two. Because not only do we love it so much, but so many people loved it. I don't know if it's going to if it's going to capture the same thing. But, like, I can't look past my excitement for it. So that's really all I'm going to have to go on for now. It was just such a surprise the first time around, too.

And, like, now they don't have that element of surprise anymore. And we know where it's going to be ending because of Rogue 1, too. So there are some hurdles to it where I feel like there's still some ways, like, where it could fall below our expectations for it now that they're so high. Doesn't make sense. All right. Night of the Seven Kingdoms. Game of Thrones.

It's back again this year. Duncan Egg, we're going on adventures of a great little night, really just fun and funny, hopefully. We haven't gotten our first look at this, but as far as the Game of Thrones industrial complex that HBO and Warner Brothers has for us over here, it seems like they're ready to really let it out of the chamber for some more expanded Game of Thrones stuff

now that we're coming into this third season of House of the Dragon in 2026. I think I'll put this at a seven. I've never been as high on House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones as most. It's always compelling. It's always exciting, and I'll always be watching it. But I think I kind of just look at it

at a bit more of an arm's length. It's just not been my IP as much as it has been for some others. So I think I'll put that at a seven. I'm looking forward to it for sure and I have no reason why it wouldn't be at least exciting. Jomi, hit me. Here's the thing, man.

I hear dunk an egg and I think like, man, you know it would be really nice right now? Some toast with a runny egg yolk. Oh, I want a deviled egg right now. You know what I'm saying? I would like a dunk some toast in an egg? You feel me? Would you want, hey, like, hey,

do you want nine hard boiled eggs? No. What if I mashed up their insides and put it with mayonnaise and mustard? Give me 20. Well, so here's the thing, right? I'm not white, so I don't eat double-ed Deviled eggs are so good.

DC, I hope you can join me. DC, help me please. I don't feel strongly one way or the other. God damn it. I can't remember the last time I've had a devil dagels. I've never had a devil dag. Deloen eggs are so fucking good. Rewatching severance.

It looks really good at severance. If any party has a deviled egg, this is a 10 out of 10 party. Steve, you go to white people parties. Yeah. That's where the disconnect is. I'm not going to lie and say that I don't. That's the disconnect, my boy. I don't have, I don't go to part.

parties with deviled eggs, man. Ask, ask five white people right now. Do you like deviled eggs? This is the same conversation that we have with autumnal, where it's like, it's so white people, it's so white people peeled. You think it's real life. It's not real life.

Right? The streets don't use that word. So when you like, I go to a party and we got deviled eggs, if it's not got deviled eggs, it's a whack party. So, okay, so this is, you go to white people parties. All right. All right, stop the pod.

We need, this is the poll we need on socials right now. Non-white people only. Do you like deviled eggs? That's not that do you like deviled eggs? Do you go to functions where they got deviled eggs there? I've never been no function with no deviled eggs. Have you, so have you ever eaten a deviled egg? No.

No? You've never, oh my God. You can't knock it until you try it, though. You can't knock it until you tried it. I never said the devil's bad. All I'm saying is is white people's shit. That's all I'm saying. Well, fair, fair, fine.

That's all I'm saying. That's fair. You know what I'm saying? Out hard you take the... Don't, but don't act like we don't cook some. Sometimes. Brother man, all I know is you take your egg, boil it, you scoop out the yolk, you mix it with some mustard, some mayonnaise, little pepper, little sail, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And then you pipe it back into the white part of the egg, and then you dust it with a little cayenne. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you serve it on a plate. So maybe some chives. Some chives, some dill. I've never, I've just, I'm just not there, brother, man, I'm not there. I don't get invited to the hoity-twitty parties with the deviled eggs, my man, you know what I'm

saying? We like, we do egg rolls. You don't what I'm saying? We do, we do, we do Nigeria. We have puff, puff. Y'all know what I'm talking about, but we didn't got no double-de-egs, my boy. All right.

Don't have devil-ed eggs. So 97 kingdoms? I don't. Gotta be honest, man. I don't care. Okay. Good. Good.

We have honesty. We have honesty. I like that. Like, it's because, what is it? It's a little kid and a dude, and they're going around town, and they just, like, on the peripherals of West Dorosi history. Yeah.

Right? Yay. Get them dragons back on screen. Get the dragons back. Yeah, like, stop playing with me, man. Like,

you know what I'm saying? Like, let's be for real. I need my mess. I need my mess. Like, where's Reneer? Um,

you know what I'm saying? Can we get, uh, Kalee back? You feel me? What we're not going to do is waste my time. Right. And so I'm going to go,

I'm going to go five. Actually, no, I'm going to go four, man. Wow. Oh my goodness. Like, y'all,

again, this is just ancillary. It's not for you. All right. You know what I'm saying? Y'all got the books. Y'all might as well let it fly. But I need, if y'all going to do some Game of Thrones, do some Game of Thrones. Don't play in my face.

So, yeah, that's a four. All right. D.C. Devil Degs stance and score. I don't have any opinions on Devil of Eggs. I can't remember the last time I've had Devil Thanks. Because you don't be going to white parties, damn. That's what it is.

We got to go to one. white parties, man. I'm about to at all on ringer general in Slack and be like, give me the devil dags takes right now. Yeah. No, I rewatch the first season of severance in preparation for the new one

and the devil eggs in that, the pre-waffle party, uh, egg bar social, whatever they call it. It looks solid. But I didn't, I didn't run out of my house to go find a devil bag.

I'd put this set at six. I feel pretty similar to you guys I was like everybody else I was disappointed by the end of Game of Thrones I haven't really been as in on House of the Dragon I didn't even finish the first season before the second season came out and then I ended up writing a little bit about the second season

so I caught up and like everybody else I was disappointed by the end of the, or like most people I guess disappointed by the end of the second season so I'll probably end up watching it and I'm sure the production value like it's a lot of things are still going to be high

because it still is a Game of Thrones production, but I don't really feel that excited for one way or the other. All right, fair enough. Wonder Man, last Marvel thing that we got, well, no, not the last Marvel thing that we'll get for this year.

Yeah, yeah. No? Last Marvel thing for the end of the year coming in December. Yaya Abdul-Matin. Oh, yeah, I see, I see. And our guy, Trevor. Trevor. Why does Ben Kingsley's involvement actually rocket this up to a seven for me.

Because he's awesome, dude. Because he's awesome. Y'all hate Iron Man 3. Yeah, yeah, Ed Harrison here too. Dude, come on, man. Lock me in. His thing. And this is what I talked about

on the pod on Wednesday. Hopefully Daredevil's taught these people a lesson about how to make TV. Yeah. And we get something that it just feels like week to week is an actual television show and not just something that they hacked up. So, I mean, I got to be honest.

I don't know who Wonder Man is. I never started this man. But if he walked past me on the street, I wouldn't know who he was. But, Yaya Abdul Mateen, Ed Harris, Trevor Slattery, I think a seven is fair. You know, like something that could be good, has potential, has like pieces, but you just got to see it come together at the end of the day. Do you see where you at? Yeah, I think I'm honestly at a seven, maybe a six, but I'll go to the seven just because I really like some of the names attached to it. We also have Shang-chi's director, Destin Daniel Kretton, involved in it.

too. So, like, there are definitely some, some things that, and it's just like, it's definitely to be a different type of show that we've seen from Marvel. And I hope that they take some risks in it, that will make it a little bit more interesting and help it stand out from what's already becoming a pretty crowded catalog of Marvel TV shows. Okay. Big contention here. The long gestating, finally coming out, Ironheart.

What's contentious about it? brother man uh they been had this they had this film for four years and they acted like they didn't yeah it's wild and then they did and then they didn't and then they did this is been done and they were like man at some point we got to release it it's like oh wait shoot it's like they left their keys at home or something where they're like oh damn it oh man we've got to go back inside oh no we can't bring ironheart out oh oh dang man so it's uh it's a four for me man man uh uh I'm not really moved by it. It's a real shame.

I really think that like Wakanda Forever kind of was in one eye out the other kind of experience for a lot of people, it seems. It's unfortunate as it was because as daunting and like at times baffling and awe-inspiring as it could be, really don't talk about it like that as much. And, you know, Rie Wu Williams,

a character that, you know, could have been beloved, like doesn't exactly get the, I guess it doesn't really get the do that it should because of how she was served in that movie, and now we've kind of got to, like, we get a show that, like, could serve her well, but we're not entirely that interested in, nor excited for it. D.C., it seems like you're the same way.

Yeah, no, I'm about the same. I think Marvel has really fumbled just the whole row out of this. It's been so long at this point. I do like Dominique Thorne. I do like the character Ruby Williams, but there's just not enough here where I feel confident at this point with how long we've known about its existence

but the fact that we still haven't seen it. Yeah. All right, Stranger Things, season five. Answers a zero. Here's what I'm... Hell yeah. Here's the thing. Hell yeah.

Here's the thing, right? Hell yeah. I just want to be very clear. Let's go. Have I enjoyed the show? Yes. Have I, you know, had a good time watching over the years?

Absolutely. You know, enough is enough. Enough is enough. Thank you. These kids are 40 years old. Guys. They qualify for Social Security. We should have, this should have been over.

It should have been over. Okay. Literally, I watched season one. I was an undergrad when it started. I'm 28. I want to go home. Enough is enough. Yes, I will watch it, but I have to take a stand.

okay. I know that it's going to move needles. Everybody's going to subscribe. Like the confidence in this, like this thing happening and being good. Sure. But I'm putting my foot down. End it now.

Goodness gracious. I'm done, guys. I'm done. Yeah, I'm out of here. I've been out. I've been out. Because season four and 80 months, it was cool.

Dog, that was. what was that? 2001? 2001. It may as well have been, man. Come on, we can't be doing. Three years between seasons? What is this?

Who do you think I am? I'll be dead by then. Have some respect, bro. You know what I mean? I don't know. Netflix is playing in our faces like this. Yeah. Doing way too much.

Don't worry. Hey, when Squid Game season five comes out and we're 80 years old. Christ, a lot. Man. Where are you at, D.C.? I can't do this, man. No, no, I'm 100% on the same page as you guys. Zero's across the board for Stranger Things Season 5.

It's so exhausted. I feel very similar about this with like, with like euphoria as well, where I feel like even like the actors seem to have just completely out from this. Don't get us on. You spin right now. Talk to them, DC. The actors don't even want to be here anymore. So it's, it's, I will not be watching.

I don't know that by the end of this confidence here, we just lose our minds with like. Like the things that were just like, don't waste, don't piss me off. Bro, if you not. Stranger things. I let out a big sigh when I saw it on the list. I was like, oh, all right. It's just like, yo, again.

These kids are still here. People, again, we used to make real television. You would have a season and it would come out every, if it came out every year in September. And you would just do that for eight years and then you would go home. But audience, aren't you exhausted by now? Wouldn't you be by then? I don't know who these people are anymore.

It's been so long. I know that TV has changed and the pandemic, like, you know, sold us a little bit. But at the same time, three years to make a television show? I like... There were the strikes, too, but still, yeah. And strikes. And strikes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, like, there are some stuff that, like, pushed it back.

But, golly. Abid Elementary come every year On time and all budget The trains came on time You know what I mean? Like Kalamate guys y'all doing way too much Yikes yikes I understand that this is like this thing moves people

And they're gonna be excited but I gotta take stand Brous is here for me man We got the Abbott Elementary Always Sunny crossover before we got the end of Do you know what I mean? The only thing that hasn't happened is Joe Lambita hasn't made a conference finals That's the only thing that hasn't happened since since things popped out bro

It's been too long. We're going to get five seasons in 90. Like, come on, man. Come on, man. Is that in GTA 6, right? That in GTA 6. Listen. Hey, that's the final.

Just leave it for a second. My fault. My fault. My fault. My fault. Let's run it. Peacemaker, that's a seven for me. I enjoyed Peacemaker quite a bit.

I think John Cena needs a shot again. I think this is. Do you really want to, do you really want to taste it? This is, That's a song. Bro. This is a workplace. Give your dog the invisible bone.

Yo. That's the song. It's the song. I never listened to the lyrics, man. It was wild. What do you mean you're not listening to the lyrics? It's playing in front of your face. It was wow.

You don't listen? Not really. They was doing the dance. They had an igley show at the end. I'm not really paying the lyrics. The dance is distracting, yeah. Yeah. Come on now.

They, bro, they got all the actors doing, like, showtune dances. Like, that's, I'm not listening to the lyrics. God. I think a seven is fair. You really can't walk and chew gum. All right. I think the seven is fair. The show, like, very surprising.

Like, I didn't know John Cena had that hit him. Truly, truly. He's always been funny, but I don't know, like, you could bring, like. There are layers to that onion, for sure. Yeah, yeah. So I got to stick with the seven. I'm going to see how it fits because the first season is not canon anymore. So the second season is one to be canon in James Gunn's new DC universe.

So I'm interested to see what that looks like with, him and vigilante and everybody that's involved there. So I'd like to see what it looks like. I'm tapped in. I think I'm more out of six. I did enjoy the first season, but I think at least for me,

like the shick gets a little bit old where like the James Gun banter where it just veers off. Here's my real fear. A good five minutes where they're just, yeah. Here's my real fear with the DC stuff when it comes to both. Superman, now Creature Commandos,

which we'll get to at the end of this pod. And Peacemaker, I'm just, I'm just curious if James Gunn's getting too much dip on the chip. But I mean, it makes a lot of James Gunn. I don't want,

I don't want Peacemaker to get like too swept up in the whole DC of it all, frankly. Like, and again, we don't know. We don't know. All things,

all, all questions will be answered once Superman drops, probably. But it's just, it feels like, like, like,

like, I'm nervous. I'm nervous about the James Gunn era. I don't know why. Because I hated Snyder. I hated the Snyder stuff. But I'm just like, okay. Like, here we go.

I mean, the question is, can James Gunn, you know, throw a splitter? Does he have another pitch in his arsenal? I don't know. He's got to fast. We know he has the fastball. He's going to throw 102 at you. Low, low, low end side corner. It's going to go right.

past you, right? You're going to be crying because an animal died or somebody in the family died and it's real sad, it's really emotional. That we know for a fact. But does he have the splitter, right? Can he do anything else to get you emotionally engaged in, again, I talked about this when we talked about Superman. Can he not just do like a found family trope vibe? Can he do something else. We'll have to see it. I think he's got a handle on Peacemaker, though. So that's not really what I'm worried about. Again, this has to be like the supermans and whatever other movies that they come up with when it's not just a group of people learning how to

be a family and defeating evil. When it's like, all right, cool, how do I focus on like one specific character, make them the center piece and how do I evolve them from the beginning of the movie to end of the movie? Yeah. And I think the big thing of it, too, though, is, like, is, can he be Kevin Feige for DC as well? And I think he's proven that he's a great filmmaker, but can he build this universe, put his, put his hands in so many places, like, be attached to so many different projects and so many different roles and for everything to still be really good and for everything to really be connected in the way that they're trying to do it. And it's a big question.

And it's see how much some of the projects like Peacemaker that are that are going to be smaller sticks if they get diluted in the process. we will see we will see all right coming down to the end here gen v season two uh the confidence is high um but the tragedy surrounding the second season yeah uh really tough um i'm very hopeful like i gen v was a genuine surprise and i was so excited to know that this was getting a season two so i really hope that uh this is going to be good i have an eight for this um jomi do you think? Yeah, the Tans Perdomo stuff sucks because it was a very integral

part in that. He was really good. Yeah. He was really good. He was really good. And they said they're not going to recast. And so, you know, it definitely probably throws a bit of a wrench until like what they were wanting,

wanted to do in season two. But season one was like, it was one of those things again where you're like, all right, it's another spinoff. No, we'll watch it. But like, who, you know, who really cares? like all right bit like you know and then like legitimately surprised me was again they did thing where it's like week to week you're getting like excellent television that made you feel like you were watching real TV again and so I hope that they can you know match that in season

two so I got to give it a nine really because like I wanted to be a 10 but I just know that there's some stuff behind the scenes that are out of their hands that that occurred but I really really really am excited for GenVy. Season 1 was just like, yo. Yeah. Who popped off, man. It was incredible. I will be there.

I will be there. I think people will be there too. Yeah. I'm at a 7, I think, just because, like you said, it's not really, it's not really, it's definitely not at all the fault of, for the GenV creators. But this, this tragedy is definitely going to loom over just the whole process of it, I'm sure, the whole production process for everybody involved. And I really hope that they can make something really great at a,

that as well with the second season. But it's definitely it's definitely going to be tough. Yeah. I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful for it. Well, we will see. We will see. All right. And then rounding it out. My adventures with Superman season three. We're already on season three guys. Real TV, baby. Real TV.

Man, Jack played hell of a guy. Hell of a guy. this is another nine for me. Like, I don't think that this is, this show is really missed. And, uh, at the constant clip that this show has been coming out with like, interesting and fun stories that Superman has been with a very fun twist on the presentation.

I've, I've just, I've loved it. I've loved it. This is a nine. I like anime, Superman. Anime Superman is fun.

It's, it's like one of those, it's just a comfort show that I'm like, I get to, I go on my DVi out. Oh, it's a little... Nice warm little blankie. Yeah, yeah.

You know, I get nice, the warm and fuzzies. It's really fun. I think a nine is correct. And the people who've been watching the show, but love it too, so, you know, hopefully we get some more after season three. But this is a show that I'm really excited to see comeback because it's just a breath of fresh share

every time I see it. Yeah, I feel exactly the same way. I think Comfort showed is the perfect description of it. I'm at a nine as well. I really love the first two seasons. I'm looking forward to wherever this show goes. this and Cape Crusader I really liked both of these for DC

DC animation is just so good they get it right so much so much of the time all right they already made the season two of Crape Crusader right like that's

I think so yeah they've gotten a barrel I really like that for a season too and I really really thought that they did a great job with it so I'm looking forward to like really I mean we talked about on the podcast but really captured

like an era of Batman that we haven't seen since the 90s And that's just... And that's hard to do with both of these characters and both... I feel like very similarly about both of these shows where with just doing something as simple of making an anime Superman

and some of the things that do with the characters. It revitalizes it in a way that's very, very impressive for characters that have been around for decades. Oh, yeah. It really, really is exciting to know that we get both of these great, like, veins of these characters that we know and love

and we see them in like a great pastiche. that is really refreshing and it still feels new. All right, final pick. Final, final thing to be hyped about. GTA6. Trick question. Trick question. It's not coming out.

It's not coming out this year. It's coming out 236. If this comes out this year, it would be like at the very, very, very, very tail end, probably for the holidays, because I think that probably makes the most sense. I'm so confident in this. I'm confident that you will see a, dip in gross domestic product worldwide for the amount of people

that will be playing and buying this game. So what you got to do is, right, let's say they'd say, it's coming out November 25th. Yeah. Let's just say, like, that's the date where the server is open, lock in. November 22nd, you got to be like,

hey, man, I feel a little, y'all feel good, man? I look at a little something in my... You know? And then you come to work at 2030, like, It's not really feeling. I got to take it down. Oh, no, we got to take all that PTO.

And then the 24th, yeah, man. Yeah, man, it's just, I'm not feeling good. Yeah. And then the 25th, ah, you know. Happy holidays. DTA 6 is on. You know, you might, you mind as well, you know, I'm already homesick. You might as well download it and play it.

You got to get ahead of the gang early. But if it does come out this year, again, I've stated on the record. I do not think that will happen. But if it does come out this year, this is probably the biggest thing to come out. It's like if Superman and this are like 1A, 1B really. Because people, guys, GTA 5 came out in 2013. Yes. I was in high school.

That's wild. When this thing came, the GTA 5 came out. Now we're finally getting a 6. Man, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, 10 is too little. Yeah. Ten is too little. Like, it's broken the scale. There's no number.

It's infinity how, like, much this game will change how we, we'll just, like, change how we, like, look at this stuff going forward. Because we've been asking for this for years. It's like a moment in history, really, when this game comes back. And frankly, it's going to be the end of a meme era to be the things that we got before GTA6. Came up before GTA6, man. Yeah. TikTok.

TikTok died. TikTok live and die before G-Day 6? Yeah. That's crazy. Damn. I mean, D.C. doesn't even need to be said that it's a 10.

No, it's really, really the only question is just when it's going to come out. And my confidence... Are you confident that it's going to come out in 2020? No.

That's like a 5 for me. Like, it's 50-50. That's really the better question for the confidence media for this one. Is it going to come out in 20-20-25? And it's... I'm going to see it in my... I'm going to have to hold it in my hands

before I believe it's coming out. Until then. Yeah. Until then, nah, it's not there for me. All right. That's going to do it. We did it, guys. We did it.

The 2025 confidence meter is in the books. Thank you so much, Daniel Chin, for coming out and being on this gargantuan pod. This is probably the longest mid-edition that's ever been. This is the longest pod I've ever been on. Thank you so much for doing it. Thank you, Jomey. We're going to throw to you right now to a great treat that we have for you guys, a conversation that we have

with a great guest. Jomi talked to us about it real quick. Set us up. I got to talk to Dean Lorry. He's the co-creator of Keatser Comandos and the showrunner for Harley Quinn season five. And we got to talk about a lot of fun stuff

including what's coming next in the DC anime universe. What Dean would love to do a little movie that he was kind of we kind of pitched and that is coming out and putting air quotes around it but we're kind of speaking to existence. A lot of fun.

stuff. Tap in right now. Let's go. This episode is brought to by WeatherTech. Everyone knows winter is the MVP and making a mess. You don't need WeatherTech floor liners in the summer unless you hit the beach or go camping. Then you'd want a cargo liner or road trip goes sideways. Ketchup goes rogue ice cream drips. Yeah, you'd be pretty happy about those weather tech seat protectors. So just to be clear as the mud, you're inevitably going to step into the summer. You don't need weather tech unless you plan on doing summer. Visit weathertech.com today. This episode is brought to you by Two Good and Company coffee creamers. How'd you take your coffee? Piping hot, ice, strong, frothy. But if you love rich, creamy goodness

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Ask your doctor about Tramfaya today. Call 1-800-526-7736 to learn more or visit Tramphiatoradio.com. Welcome back, Junior Mintz. I am very, very happy to be here today with a showrunner of a ton of my favorite animated DC Mac shows, including Harley Quinn, Kite Man, Hell Yeah, and Creature Commandos. It's Dee Lorry. Welcome to the podcast, Dee. Thank you.

Thank you for having me. And thank you for putting the exclamation point on hell, yeah. I mean, you got to, right? Matt Oberg does it? I got to do it. Yeah, you got to. You got to respect Matt. You have to.

You have to. Let's talk Creature Commando, season one, just wrapped up. Congratulations on the premiere. This is the first entry. I said, Premier, this is the first thing in the D.C. universe. Like, how excited are you to see? like the first thing released. Look, I'm super excited.

And it was like when we started, I didn't even really put together that this was going to be the first thing. And then when I realized that, I was like, oh, man, this is a lot of pressure. But it turned out to, you know, we just made the show. And so I try not to think too much about that. And today, well, I don't know when this is airing, But the teaser for Superman came out today.

And that blew me away as the first time I'd seen it. So, you know, it's exciting to now see what we're going to be followed up with. But, yeah, it's, I was super excited to represent the beginning of DC. And I couldn't be more, more excited to see what follows. I mean, you speak as Superman. I thought the trailer was really cool. You worked with James Gunn on this project. You know, he wrote it.

What was it like working with him on this show making Creature Commandos? I mean, it ended up being like a great experience. And I didn't know James before this. I'd never met him or talked to him. So, you know, I really didn't know what that was going to be like. And I'd also never run a show that I didn't write or at least run the writer's room on. So, you know, for me, this was like kind of a new thing. But James was great to work with it. What was nice is, you know, because he's a creative person himself, you know, obviously Rice Drex does everything. Like he sort of knew how to talk to other people like that. So like his notes were incredibly clear and specific. And, you know, I knew what he wanted. His scripts were also that way. In fact, they were so specific that he had all the

music, all the songs from the thing, but in the scripts at exactly the point that he wanted to see them come in. So it made it sort of very easy to work with him just because he was always great about explaining what he wanted. Yeah, that's awesome. I mean, look, I've never listened to Norwegian alt-pop bands, like, ever in my life. But now Kaiser's Orchestra is all over my Spotify, you know, like when he's making those decisions, I'm sure you've, you guys talked about it, Is that something that to remind us that like, oh, we're in Polkholistan or is that just like, yo, F F it. I'm going to just throw some Eastern European music in here and let it rock. I mean, I think it was inspired by the setting, you know, the Eastern European setting, which obviously inspired the animation, the art, just the look of the whole thing.

But I will say that when I was first reading the scripts, because he wrote the entire series before we even started producing it, which was. another change because usually you're writing as you go. And so I was reading through the scripts and I would hit these songs by Go Go Bordello and all that. And I had no idea. I'd never heard, you know, any of these things. So I kept going to Spotify to listen, you know, to what they were. And you would listen to these songs and instantly you could feel the vibe and the tone of what he was trying to do. And it's just like this way that music speaks to you so primally, you know, it's, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was.

kind of a gift. Yeah, no, music is a great medium to, you know, get the emotions out of people and set the setting. You're absolutely, absolutely right. So the show's called Culture Commandos, right? And the DC universe is filled with monsters and creatures and all of that sort. What was the decision process in, like, choosing what the characters who, like, what they would look like, what their makeup would be in this first iteration? Yeah, I mean, we spent a lot of time on it. This was, Creature Commandos was not a comic that I was familiar with going into this. And in fact, I think that's probably true, most people.

I don't know that a ton of people were super familiar with them. Were you? No, no. I can't imagine folks were lined up outside the comic shop like, yo, do that new Creature Commandos, man. Let's get it. Exactly. And I was the same way. And so when I started seeing Frankenstein and the bride, so you have in your head like a particular vision for what, you know, they sort of look like.

But they function very differently in Creature Commandos than we're used to in terms of like the sort of classic version of those characters. And then with other characters, there was Weasel. And, you know, that's a character that James knows intimately his brother Voices Weasel. And so, you know, it was pretty clear sort of where that came in from. And then there were other characters that, you know, James is the one that picked them all. So there were other characters that he felt like functioned very well in the world and helped the story along. So Dr. Phosphorus was sort of like that, Nina Mazzarsky. And, you know, just in turn, oh, and Frank Grillo, who played Flagg, Sr., he has a pretty big role, my understanding, in the D.C. universe going forward.

I know he's in Peacemaker, season two. He's in a lot of stuff. So this is a good sort of introduction to him in that role that will carry through. And we had Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, and she also will, you know, carry through a great deal of the DC universe. So it was sort of a mix of things, you know, the desire to have these monsters, these other characters, as well as ongoing characters. Yeah, I mean, you mentioned a lot of the great actors and actresses you got in the show. you know, Indira Varma, Sean Gunn doing two voices, the legend Alan Tudick. And of course, EGOTW winner, he's doing all the voices.

And of course, EGOTWR, Viola Davis. I mean, what did it feel like to see them and hear them bring the creature commandos voices to life? Well, I'll tell you, I had never worked with Sean Gunn before. And so he was voicing two of the characters that, well, Weasel, I kind of knew what he going to do because I'd heard it before, but GI Robot was, that was a character that I was a little concerned about how that was going to come across because there's so many ways you could do it. You could do it really roboty, you know, or you could try to ignore that entirely.

But I felt like he, from minute one, he came in with this very sort of human take on it. You know, his rhythms were a little roboty, but he looked for the humanity in it, which I just loved. And it was one of those things. Like, you know, when something's good, you just immediately relax. You just go, okay, I think, you know, I get it. And that was, that was some voice work that I was a little worried about. And Frankenstein was another one because I was like, how's that? David Harbor plays Frankenstein.

And that was another thing. I wondered as we went into it. Like, is this going to be, is he going to grunt and be, you know, the classic Frankenstein? because in the show, you can see he's kind of a learned guy and he's got wit and he's also like a psychopath.

I'm really glad you brought him up because, again, the characters are amazing. The stories behind Weasel, G.I. Robot. Nina, you know, really got to me. But the thing that was the most interesting was the game of like hide and seek with the bride and Frankenstein because I know

I'm supposed to hate Frankenstein, right? Like, I know that, like, what he's doing is wrong. It's all that is terrible. But there's, like, a humanity and an earnestness to him that just makes him so compelling. Like, he speaks in pros, you know what I mean? Like, it's just, it's so fun. Like, what was it like crafting that storyline?

And how did you manage to walk that tightrope? It's like David Harbor, did he bring something to it? Or is that something that you and James had been working to craft throughout this season? Well, David really brought a lot of that to it because, first of all, like, Frankenstein in the show is incredibly single-minded. Like, the thing he's concerned about is getting the bride. And that's true of GI Robot as well. All GI Robot cares about is killing Nazis.

That's what he's designed to do from the start. That's what he does. But with Frankenstein, the trick of it was that he is charming. There's funny stuff, you know, talking about comparing romantic comedies and all this, but at its heart, he's a stalker and like a very violent stalker. And so that was sort of interesting to watch your emotions change as as you got to know the character because there came a point when I was reading the scripts where, you know, you can't help but sort of like empathize with Frankenstein because he's fun.

and he's charming and he's funny and all that. And then there comes a time when he is in a cabin with the old gypsy woman who brought him back to life and nursed him and all of that. And the end of that sequence, what happens to the gypsy woman is so violent and shocking that it reminds you, this is a bad dude. He is a monster, you know? And so I think there was a lot of fun in sort of playing. with people's expectations about that character.

Yeah, no, and I think that was a master's stroke of work for you guys. Very well, well, well done. I got to talk about it. They got Nina out of here. They got Nina, the heart, the soul, they got, of all the characters, of all the main characters on the team, why did you choose her? Why did you have to choose her deed? Well, first of all, I'm going to blame James because he wrote that.

He wrote it. It wasn't me. It wasn't me. Yeah, but no, it, well, James was talking about, like in Guardians of the Galaxy, you know, there's death in it. But it's death that at least feels like it serves a purpose. It serves a higher purpose or something like that. But what's different about Creature Commandos is sometimes there's death and it's not for any good reason. You know, it's not because something noble happened or, you know, somebody who deserved it, got it coming. Sometimes people just die because not everybody survives a war, which is sort of what's going on in this. And the death of Nina Mazzorski is, I think, the hardest to take. And because she's really the heart of the show. I mean, the whole time you're watching, you kind of, in a way, are seeing it through her eyes because she's an innocent. to all of it. And she's gone through such a brutal childhood, you know, with all of her problems and all of that, that she's the last person that you want to see sort of sacrificed in the show.

And she goes. So it's, I mean, I kind of love it in the sense that, like, there were a couple points along the way where I realized James isn't pulling punches. Like, we're going to, we're just going to have to like let this thing ride. And, and there's like an elegance to that that I kind of like. But yeah, I mean, I was sorry to see or no, go. And Zoe Chow is amazing to work with. She's like the nicest ladies. So that was hard too.

No, that's great. Enough sad stuff. We, you know, all this death. It's not worry about that anymore. For all the characters in the show, what was the funnest one to storyboard or animate? Like when you're watching the show go from script to, you know, screen, what was the character like, nah, I can't wait to see what people think about this? I'll tell you, I loved Dr. Phosphorus because he was so, you know,

everybody got excited about being creative with the way that Dr. Phosphorus would off people. And, you know, you had things where his hand would just melt directly through a person's face and leave a handprint on the other side, you know, that sort of stuff. So he was really fun for that reason. And another character that I, that actually oddly enough was also played by Alan Tudik, um, is Clayface. And this is not the Harley Quinn version of Playface. This is the brutal monster version of Clayface. And that was cool too, because there's just so much fun to be had with, you know, Clayface constantly shape-shifting as the fight went on. And so that was really cool. But I, honestly, I can say that about almost

any of the characters. They were all really cool in their own ways. Now, Foxwoods was cool. You got the Kirby Crackle going. And the scene where he just like takes his clothes off and just walks through the tank is nuts, right? Like it's just, yeah, you guys

were, you guys were cooking in there. And also that fight with the fight with flag right at the beginning, I think it's in episode one when when flags in his underwear and they fight across multiple levels of the match. Yeah.

No, that's great. You mentioned this earlier. We know Frank Grillo is returning as Rick Flagg's Senior and Peacemaker Season 2. Like, are you excited to see that and potentially see more of these Creatures Commandos come in and live action? Like, is that something that you're really, like, excited to see? Very much. I mean, you know, it's, one, I'm just excited to see season two in the show anyway.

But yeah, I love the idea of like when we went into this, and I've never done this before, but James was saying like we want, because it's canon, because Creature Commandos is canon in this world now, we want to be able to cast any of these actors as those characters in the live action version, if there is one. I don't know, you know, I certainly haven't heard any pickup or anything like that, but I know that James is thinking about it. So when we were auditing, people and trying to cast this thing. We were trying to look for both sides of it. Like, could they play the role in live action as well as do the voice work?

And I feel like we, I feel like we came to a great place because I want to see every one of these people in a live action version of some form of Creature Commandos story. And Frank is like, I mean, he's Frank Rillo. Yeah. He's got to what he's going to. I mean, you mentioned, look, Peacemaker again season two. you know, we're getting more flag but the bride, weasel, King Sark, you know, at the end there?

But I do know that James would like to do a season two of it. And it's helpful that he's both the seller and the buyer. I was thinking of the safety. I mean, that doesn't work. And I think part of it's going to be,

you know, you may not know this, but James is a pretty busy guy and he was all of season one. And I think he'd like to write season two. He wrote all a Peacemaker season two as well. So I don't know where he's going to find the time to do this. But, yeah, look, I'm all for it. I know Rick Morales, and who was the animation supervisor.

All of us are, we are, we're ready to go. We just get Jeff to say, do it. Hell yeah, man. That'll be, that'll be awesome. Let's pivot real quick. Yeah. Because Harley Quinn, season five is coming. That's right.

premieres on January 16th. I've been a fan since it was on DC Universe, not the world, but the channel. That's crazy. Like, when we first made that, when we were doing season one, DC Universe wasn't even a thing.

Like, we knew it was going to be on something called DC Universe, but it wasn't live yet at the time. And then when it went live, it turned out there were about three people that were watching it, and I guess you were one of them. I was one of them. I was watching, man. I would do the double feature with Young Justice and Hardy Quinn.

Yeah. I was double dipping. You know what I'm saying? Well, I mean, we were, we made 26 episodes before any of them aired. And so it was one of those things where we were like, people are either going to really like this or we're going to have 26 episodes of stuff that people want to kill us over. because, you know, it was like, we really didn't know because it's a very R-rated taste on very beloved characters. So, but I'm thrilled to have season five coming out.

I'm just, and it's really soon, too. It's, what is it? It's less than a month at this point. That's right. Yeah, it's coming out. It's coming out soon. Your back is a showmerer for season five. How good does it feel to be back in the cozy and chaotic confines of Harley and Ivy?

I missed them. I mean, I, like, you know, I love that world. And just because I go back to the first couple seasons, I like, I got to miss. I wanted to do a little bit more with some of my favorites. So Bain comes back in a big way in season five. He's a major character. I love Bain.

Clayface is another one. I can't get enough of a Clayface. Frank the Plant. Like all these characters come back like really strong in season five. And for me, that was a lot of fun. because I just love writing for them and all that. And we had a great writer's room. And Katie Rich did a wonderful job working on that with me.

And the whole thing was, I mean, it was kind of a dream. I love doing it. No, it's awesome. I mean, you mentioned Clayface, Bain, Frank, King, Shark. Like, when you're in that writer's room and you're having, you have all those pieces, how do you make sure they get their own shine? Well, also, you know, knowing that the main drawing, point is Harley and Pam. How do you balance that? Well, you know, I didn't think about it so much as like

I have to feature, you know, everybody and give them their own space. What I would do is just look at what the scene was or what the story was in that episode and say, who would make this better? Who would be fun? And if it was something, I'd be like, let's throw Bain into this because he's going to be great. Or, you know, this is clearly a King Shark thing. Like in King Shark, I think the, I think the trailers, you know, the trailer's out and King Shark has, he has a bunch of kids. He's got a bunch of of little guppies going around. Little sharks. And Sean the Shark is a particularly difficult one. And so we were able to include King Shark in a bunch because Sean the Shark became a nice character for us. And I don't know. I just love, honestly, I love writing for all of them. So it's just

fun to do. No, it's great. So the last time we saw him, it looked like we might see the Gotham City sirens, but it looks like our heroines are going to move to Metropolis. Like, what was the direction behind the change of scenery, like leaving Gotham behind and going to where Superman lays his cape down? Well, we wanted to, because it was season five, and we were pretty deep into their story, we wanted to explore Harley and Ivy in a rut at the beginning. Like, what happens when you've been together for kind of a long time and Gotham, which seems sort of magical and crazy at the beginning is starting to just seem dirty and not that great.

And how do you get out of that? And so for them, you know, Metropolis was sort of Oz. It's like, it's the beautiful, clean city and all of that. So like that seemed to be an exciting start for them. And we thought we could tell a really interesting story that took place, you know, with like a change of scenery that would be very sort of character focused for them and the other. their characters. And so we know that there was Gotham City Sirens set up. You will see some of Gotham City Sirens at the beginning of Harley's season five. But in my mind, this is a little bit of a time jump. So we sort of pick up at the end of the Gotham City Sirens. And I would love to do a separate season where we go, okay, this is going to be the Gotham City Siren seasons that just

drops right in there. Gotham City Sirens special. You heard of here first guys. Dean Lauerie here. guys. I'd love to do it. That's just something I'd love to do. No, that would be awesome. I would absolutely love, love, love to see that. You got, you mentioned the trailer. Yeah.

Saw Enchantress, Red X, as a somebody, Teen Titans, Red X, what? Brainiacs coming. You're mixing some of the classic villains with some of the newer. By the way, Brainiac is played by Stephen Fry. And he's, I mean, he's the best.

Brainiac is the big bad in this season. Yeah, that's awesome. How fun is it to introduce, like, those characters and to this wacky and wild world that you've created? You know, that's a big part of the fun of it, is initially we started off by going, like, who are like really obscure characters that might be interesting? That's where Kite Man came from. Conament King?

Yeah, yeah. Connemant King, absolutely. I mean, so, you know, that's where a lot of that came from. But then this season, we were like, who is a great sort of Superman villain that we want to embrace? And it just seemed to all of us like it had to be Brainiac. And there's got to be a good story to tell. And I think we found a really good one. But I just, I have to say, D.C. has been great about basically opening up all of their characters to us.

really are no restrictions on who we can use in sort of the Harleyverse. And so having that to draw from, it's, we're kids in a candy story, you know. That's awesome. That's awesome. In this era of streaming television, you know, shows don't even get, go past two seasons, animated shows even, let alone five. What's it like to be able to watch your show grow, you know, with the ever-changing landscape of streaming television? It's been great, particularly being that when,

we started, like you mentioned, it was on DC Universe. We didn't know that there was going to be any particular interest in it. And also, the DC folks at the time were not really even aware of it. It was just sort of this little animated thing. And so they, you know, it wasn't until it started testing like through the roof that they started going, what is this you're doing? And then we showed it and they saw how dirty it was and everything. And there was. And there was a moment of like panic, I think. And but at that point, we'd made so many, it had gone, we'd done so much.

So when it started, there was like, everybody was nervous about it. But to see that it caught on and now is like, now they compare like sometimes like new R-rated animated shows against Harley, which is so crazy to me that it sort of hit, hit that phase. You started the trend. It was all you.

It was all. Pat and Justin and a bunch of people. But, yeah, it was, we, it was great. It was awesome. So, look, we mentioned DC Universe a lot. Young Justice was on there. It's gone now. Rest in peace.

But James is watching. James, if you listen to tap in, you know what I'm saying? Season 5 hit my line, you know what I'm saying? But are we going to see more Harley Quinn in the future? Is there a possibility for that? I mean, I think there is. I don't have anything definite yet, but I know we've talked a lot about it, and I think there's a taste for it.

So I hope we have something to announce not too distant future, but there's nothing definite yet. Hey, man, I can't wait. I'm crossing my fingers, hope to see season six. This is again, these are one of my favorite, favorite shows that I've been watching for a really long time. I'm so glad that we're getting a season five. And I can't wait.

Not only for season six, but for the Gotham City Sirens movie from Dean, baby. Yeah. It doesn't happen as anything. But I'd like to see it too. I would love that. Dean, it's been a pleasure, but a ton of fun.

Make sure to check out Harley Quinn's season five on HBO Max January 16th. Dean, thank you so much for coming on and joining us on Mid Edition. Thank you. Thank you. this was great fun. Had a blast.

Thank you. All right. That was an amazing conversation. Thank you so much, Jomi, for doing that. Thank you so much to Dean Lorry for talking with us. Thank you. Daniel Chin, once again, for joining us. We'd love to have you again.

Frankly, take a vacation after this long time because you put in work today. We are produced by the wonderful, the patient, the oh-so grateful to have Jonathan Kerma. Thank you so much for listening to all of this, Mint Edition listeners. Junior Mintz, we love you. We're going to be coming back to you again. Be sure to follow us.

Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, maybe. Probably not. Well, probably not. YouTube as well. Like rate and subscribe. Hit the bell as well. You know? You love to see it.

Jomi, do you have parting words for us? Thank you for listening. We're going to see you guys next time. Jomi, take us out. Shout out to our guide, D.C., Washington, Daniel Chin, coming out here. And thank you again for coming on. Love having you on. Thank you, guys.

I hope you guys having a wonderful, wonderful beginning to your year. Shout out to our Trevor producer, my guy, Robert Lewin Kermski. Nice. And hopefully we'll see you guys soon. There's no song. It's been like four hours. You got to get out of here. Let's wrap this up.

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