Birds of Prey
Genre	Action Drama Superhero[1]
Based on	Birds of Prey byJordan B. Gorfinkel andChuck Dixon
Developed by	Laeta Kalogridis
Starring	Ashley Scott Dina Meyer Rachel Skarsten Shemar Moore Ian Abercrombie Mia Sara
Opening theme	"Revolution" byAimee Allen
Composer	Mark Snow
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13
Production
Executive producers	Michael Tollin Brian Robbins Joe Davola
Production location	Los Angeles
Running time	39–47 minutes
Production companies	Flash Film Works (pilot) Tollin/Robbins Productions Warner Bros. Television
Original release
Network	The WB
Release	October 9, 2002 (2002-10-09) – February 19, 2003 (2003-02-19)

Birds of Prey is an Americansuperhero television series that was developed byLaeta Kalogridis. The series aired onThe WB from October 9, 2002 to February 19, 2003 and is loosely based on theDC Comics seriesof the same name. The series takes place in aGotham City abandoned byBatman.

The initial trailers for the series and its opening credits used footage ofMichael Keaton (asBruce Wayne / Batman) andMichelle Pfeiffer (asSelina Kyle / Catwoman) fromBatman Returns. The suits from theTim Burton andJoel SchumacherBatman films were used (albeit repainted) in the series.^[2][3] Additionally, artwork featuring the Burton incarnations of Batman and Catwoman was commissioned to promote the series as aTV Guide cover, but ultimately went unused, as the show was cancelled before the artist finished the piece.^[4][5]

The series debut garneredratings of 7.6 million viewers (at the time, the network's largest premiere in the 18–34 demographic), but the series was canceled after ratings fell sharply in subsequent weeks.^[6] Thirteen episodes were produced and aired in total.^[7]

The series is set inNew Gotham City, several years after it has been apparently abandoned byBatman. In his absence, Oracle (Barbara Gordon) and the Huntress (Helena Kyle) have taken over his war on crime. The two are joined by Dinah Redmond (Black Canary), atelepath (after she assists them in defeating Larry Ketterly); Alfred Pennyworth, who serves Helena as she is heiress to the Wayne estate; and Detective Jesse Reese, a police officer confronted with crimes and abilities he cannot explain.

A central feature of the series is the concept ofmetahumans: individuals born with powers that cannot be explained. No two metahumans have the same abilities (unless hereditary), and there exists a whole subculture of metahuman society that the outside world knows nothing about.

Detective Reese reluctantly teams up with Huntress and the other Birds of Prey to defeat metahuman criminals. At first, he disapproves of Helena's vigilantism, even trying to arrest her, but eventually he realizes there is a need for the Birds of Prey to take down criminals the police cannot handle.

During the course of the show, the Birds of Prey often confront schemes masterminded by Dr. Harleen Quinzel (Harley Quinn), though they are unaware of her involvement until the final episode of the series. Quinzel's attempts to discover what Helena is hiding, and the duplicitous nature of their therapy sessions together, form a large part of the series arc, beginning in the pilot episode and being resolved in the series finale.^[8]

• Ashley Scott asHelena Kyle / Huntress
  The daughter ofBatman andCatwoman. She is half-metahuman, with cat-like abilities inherited from her mother (also a metahuman in theBirds of Prey continuity): enhanced agility, strength, healing and a sixth sense for danger, as well as the ability to shift her eyes to a feline form. This change is usually triggered by strong emotion, but can also be used to grant Helena enhanced night vision. She was raised by her mother without ever knowing who her father was until the night Catwoman was murdered in cold blood on the street, right in front of her by an unknown assassin hired by theJoker (eventually revealed to beClayface). After this, she was taken in by Barbara Gordon, who raised and trained her.
• Dina Meyer asBarbara Gordon / Batgirl / Oracle
  By day, Barbara is a teacher at New Gotham High, but, by night, she fights crime from a secret location in the New Gotham Clocktower. Originally one of Batman's apprentices and the daughter of his trusted ally Police CommissionerJames Gordon, Barbara wasshot by the Joker as revenge for Batman's dismantling of his criminal operation, leaving her paralyzed and forced to give up her life asBatgirl. She began using her expertise in computer hacking and weaponry to fight crime and renamed herself he Oracle. She maintains her superhero contacts and calls upon Huntress to handle the field work she is no longer capable of doing. Barbara works to develop a cybernetic implant for her spine in the hope that one day she will regain her mobility.
• Rachel Skarsten asDinah Redmond (née Lance)
  Also a metahuman, Dinah is drawn to New Gotham and to Helena and Barbara by visions of the tragedies that befell them on the night of the Joker's revenge. She proves herself to the two and is taken in as a member of their team, with the condition that she train in the use of her metahuman abilities. In addition to herprecognitive dreams, Dinah is a touch-telepath, able to read the thoughts of anyone she comes in physical contact with and later manifests the power oftelekinesis. During the course of the series, Dinah discovers that her mother is actually Carolyn Lance, theBlack Canary, also a metahuman and legendarysuperhero, who gave Dinah up for her own safety when she was a child after she did not display any metahuman potential. Unbeknownst to Carolyn, Dinah's abilities manifested while in the care of her foster parents, who reacted with fear and physical abuse towards the young Dinah. This prompted her to run away where she was found by Barbara Gordon. The discovery of Dinah's relation to the Black Canary leads Oracle to believe that she may also have inherited her mother's hypersonic ability, although it is never demonstrated. Under Barbara and Helena's tutelage, Dinah becomes a skilled combatant.
• Shemar Moore as Detective Jesse Reese (né Hawke)
  An honest police detective who encounters Huntress while investigating a rash of bizarre suicides, Jesse is simultaneously drawn to her and disapproves of her disrespect for the law. Nevertheless the two are thrown together by cases involving metahuman abilities. Reese's birthname was revealed as Jesse Hawke, and his father is Al Hawke, head of a powerful crime family and sworn enemy of Carolyn Lance, Dinah's mother. When he turned 16, after nearly being arrested when a police officer found traces of blood found all over the trunk of his father's car while he was driving it, Jesse's relationship with his father became estranged. He forsook the name "Hawke", took his mother's surname, and dedicated his life to find justice for his father's victims. He pursued a career in law enforcement to atone for his family's sins. Reese and Helena ultimately bond romantically towards the end of the series.
• Ian Abercrombie asAlfred Pennyworth
  Faithful butler to theWayne family, Alfred transferred his services to Helena and Barbara in Batman's absence, and is often present at the clock tower, taking care of their day-to-day needs. He shares a close bond with Barbara, often listening to her problems or giving her advice on personal situations, whether she wants to hear it or not. He secretly remains in contact with Batman, updating him on the status of the Birds, in particular, that of Helena.
• Mia Sara^{[Note 1]} asDr. Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn
  A psychiatrist Helena is ordered to see after being convicted of vandalism while chasing a thief. Harley Quinn was Joker's lover and accomplice prior to his incarceration, unbeknownst to Helena and the other Birds of Prey, and has come to seek her revenge on New Gotham for what it did to her 'Mr J'. Though she presents herself as a respectable professional, once called upon by the authorities to work with violent and dangerous felons, Harleen Quinzel is herself insane, using her contacts with the criminal world to mastermind her revenge.

• Shawn Christian as Wade Brixton
  The guidance counselor at New Gotham High. He and Barbara meet in the pilot and subsequently begin a relationship.
• Brent Sexton as Detective McNally
  A New Gotham detective and partner of Jesse Reese. He is skeptical of all things strange and unexplainable. He first appears in the pilot.
• Robert Patrick Benedict as Gibson Kafka
  A metahuman with perfect photographic memory. He can recall every taste, sight, sound and smell he has ever experienced (since before birth) and knows, to the second, the amount of time that has passed since he last saw someone. He is the proprietor of No Man's Land, a bar and safe house for metahumans. He first appears in the third episode, "Prey for the Hunter".

OnRotten Tomatoes the show has a 52% rating based on reviews from 25 critics.^[21]

Birds of Prey was released on Region 1 DVD on July 15, 2008. The four-disc collection includes the thirteen episodes that were broadcast plus the unaired pilot,^[22] which featuresSherilyn Fenn asHarley Quinn, and all three seasons of the Flash-animated seriesGotham Girls. The episodes are presented inletterboxed widescreen format.^[22] Some music differs from the original televised version including the theme song ("My Remedy"), which in the original airing was "Revolution" byAimee Allen, as well as additional songs such as "Harder to Breathe" byMaroon 5 in the second episode,^[23] and the fight music "All the Things She Said" byt.A.T.u. in the final episode which was replaced with "Beautiful Freak" by Dirty Children.

Ashley Scott reprises her role as Helena Kyle for theArrowverse crossover event "Crisis on Infinite Earths",^[24] which retroactively establishes the world ofBirds of Prey as Earth-203 before theAnti-Monitor (played byLaMonica Garrett) destroys it. Dina Meyer additionally reprises her role as Barbara Gordon, though only in an uncredited vocal capacity.^[25]

• Birds of Prey (2020 film)

• Official DVD website
• Birds of Prey atIMDb

• Birds of Prey (TV series)
• 2002 American television series debuts
• 2003 American television series endings
• 2000s American superhero television series
• 2000s American drama television series
• 2000s American science fiction television series
• American English-language television shows
• Television shows based on DC Comics
• Television shows set in the United States
• Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios
• The WB television dramas
• Batman (1989 film series)
• Vigilante television series
• Superheroine television shows
• American action television series
• Television shows about telepathy

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