When the Harley Quinn adult animated series debuted in 2019, it was a bona fide smash hit. Among the breakout characters who left an indelible mark on viewers was the D-list villain Kite Man. Now the flying flunky is soaring to new heights in Kite Man: Hell Yeah!his own spinoff series debuting this week. Ahead of the release of the Kite Man animated series this week, we had the chance to chat with Matt Oberg the voice of the owner himself as well as producer Dean Lorey.

Taimur Dar: I think most people would agree it wasn’t too long ago Kite Man would be considered a D-List character. But in the same vein as someone like Peacemaker, he’s entering the mainstream and headlining his own television show. Did either of you ever imagine in your wildest dreams that Kite Man would soar to such heights?

Matt Oberg: [Laughs] We knew that this was his destiny. We all knew that this was where this was headed. We just didn’t know how long it would take. This is fated in the stars that Kite Man would have his own show. I’m happy that it only took five years to get it there. I’m so thrilled that this show exists and happily surprised that it exists. I can’t wait for audiences to share in the joy and surprise that I had taking part in it.

Dean Lorey: We had no idea that Kite Man was going to become what he’s become. He started as a one-off character in Season One of Harley in the bar mitvah episode. We loved him and kept writing to him. We wrote it for Matt. He just grew into this wonderful character. When we were looking for a character to do a spinoff of, we thought he was an unlikely and unexpected character and thought we could take him on a great journey.

Dar: Matt, I believe your first animation voiceover role was as Mark Lilly in Ugly Americans. It’s one of my favorites. As different as they are, I can’t help but notice a similar energy between the characters, particularly in their positivity. Do you feel like there’s an overlap for you as a performer?

Oberg: That’s a good point. I hadn’t thought about it like that. This was this Comedy Central cartoon a long time ago. It was similar to a guy who’s trying to do his best surrounded by people who are dragging him down or complicating his life. I think it’s a similar arc for both of those characters. With Kite Man there’s a lot more directions you can take this in. I was able to recycle some of the same energies in that performance as well as use the exact same voice so that was a really helpful transition.

Give: Even before the Harley Quinn animated series, Kite Man’s resurgence began in the comics a number of years ago thanks to writer Tom King. That’s where his iconic catchphrase “Hell Yeah!” originated. Obviously, you’re doing your own thing with the character but I’d love to know if you’ve read those Tom King Kite Man issues?

Lorey: We read some of them. We always loved his character and his optimism and fearlessness in the face of having absolutely no ability to do anything. I didn’t talk to Tom King directly but I know that he was a fan of the Kite Man in Harley and this series. We were just relieved and thrilled that he was really into it. For us it was just a pleasure to get to work with the character.

Dar: Ensemble records are a rarity these days so I’m assuming actors recorded solo. If so, were you able to hear the performances from the other actors or even know who was voicing the other characters?

Oberg: It’s a little bit of both. The first time you go in you’re doing it with a director or writer who reads against you. Once some of the animation comes in and they’re starting to put the pieces together, I can hear what everyone else is doing and go back in and calibrate to match some of their performances. You’re right it was not an ensemble recording. But there’s a great team that helps me walk through it so the chemistry like with Golden Glider is working and our performances are in the same world.

Lorey: I would call out Chris Marrs who is one of our top producers on the show and worked a lot with Matt on the recordings.

Oberg: He was great. He played every other character except mine. And sometimes he would play mine.

Lorey: He would play it in the writers’ room!

[Laughter]

Dar: On the subject of the voice cast, the Kite Man animated series features an amazing array of actors. I have to single out Lance Reddick who sadly passed away last year. With the exception of one or two episodes near the end of the season, it looks like he was able to record most lines for the role as Lex Luthor.

Lorey: He got just about all of it. He was wonderful. We were so saddened and shocked when we heard he died. He was great in it.

Dar: Likewise, some characters from the Harley Quinn animated series that you had to recast for various reasons. For instance, Keith David has replaced Michael Ironside. As much as I love Michael Ironside, Keith David is pitch perfect for this version of Darkseid in the Kite Man animated series. What went into recasting some of the characters?

Lorey: In virtually every case it was just availability of people. We loved the original actors too. We got really lucky with the recasting that we did. I’m going to call out Keith David specifically. I think he’s amazing as Darkseid. He’s very funny and had a great take on the character. Lance was wonderful. Janelle James came in after Wanda Sykes to do Queen of Fables and brought a different take too. It was really interesting to work with great actors and see each person take on the same role. They are equally good but different. It really points a finger at how many actors bring to a role. Everybody made it their own while still maintaining the integrity of the characters. We’re honestly blessed with the voice cast.

Dar: Finaly, I don’t want to spoil too much but there’s a great episode where Kite Man goes on a quest to obtain powers that I think will be a fan-favorite. So I gotta ask, if you could be granted any power what would it be?

Oberg: To grant a Season Two. Is that a big enough ask? Green light power?

Lorey: I guess I would ask for the power to get writing done. [Laughs]. It’s really hard to write. I’d love the power to go right to a finished script.

Oberg: AI will soon grant you that power, Dean!

[Laughter]

Kite Man: Hell Yeah! premieres Thursday, July 18 on Max.