 HBO Max has just announced the release of a new Scooby-Doo series for adults, titled "Velma" via Deadline. The series will tell the origin story of Velma Dinkley, with Velma to be voiced by Mindy Kaling. Executive producing the show will be Sam Register, Howard Klein and Charlie Grandy. The show will be produced by Warner Brothers Animation. Sam Register has also worked as an executive on many of the recent Scooby-Doo series. The series will reportedly have adult themes and will not be appropriate for all audiences. No further info about release date is available at this time. Update: The first season will be 10 episodes long. It was also described as "a humorous spin" on the classic by Warner Brothers Press. Mindy Kaling also posted on Instagram about the series, saying that it will follow "the pitfalls of high school, her budding sexuality, and a serial killer intent on murdering every popular kid in town." 
94 Comments
John Locke
2/10/2021 11:39:53 am
I just heard about this too, I'm honestly not ok with this, a show for kids should not have an adult version while the kids show is still running. It's the same problem I have with the new Star Trek shows, a series traditionally for people all ages should not suddenly be thrust into an adult only sphere... 2/10/2021 11:41:39 am
I think it will be harder for kids to stumble across it since it's exclusively on HBO Max, but yeah, I totally get why you'd be upset about this. I'm not really sure how to feel. I feel like I need more information or perhaps a trailer or something to get a feel for what the show is going to be like. I am pretty shocked they're making something like this though.
John Locke
2/10/2021 11:50:48 am
Yea... also true because there's so many ways this could go, a raucnhy comedy, (ew, not against all crass jokes but they gotta fit the characters), weed humor (please no, they've avoided that mostly with scooby for over 50 years now... ), It's very difficult to thread that needle, and because it's supposedly an "origin story for Velma" that also means... kinda young since she's late teens most the time we have her in things. So to me that reads as 'precocious kid' or 'we wanna do something to her early high school life' 2/10/2021 12:00:04 pm
I wouldn't mind if she was in early high school, which she probably will be...but I wouldn't want tons of weed or other crass jokes.
Becker
2/26/2021 10:36:51 am
To be fair, by the time Velma comes out, Guess Who will have ended for a while
Becker
2/10/2021 12:00:58 pm
What the fuk
Samuel Kirkwood
2/10/2021 12:06:50 pm
Interesting. Like many, I'm on the fence and unsure about this. 2/10/2021 12:30:20 pm
I think that's all we can be at this point. I wish they would have given us more information, since we basically know nothing other than the series will exist.
Gibby Norton
2/10/2021 12:24:14 pm
I’m excited for this! I think it’s important to not create all these notions of what Scooby-Doo factually is. Scooby-Doo is factually fictional media as fluid and interpretational as the next franchise. Each show and movie should be judged on its own merits as its own individual piece of art/work/entertainment. It being for adults and ditching the whole gang doesn’t bother me because this could be a whole new interpretation of the Velma character who has been made pretty annoying lately. I also like that they can make Velma LGBT, the plot involves a murder mystery, and that Mindy Kaling is voicing Velma! She is a capable person for playing Velma for sure! 2/10/2021 12:31:58 pm
"Each show and movie should be judged on its own merits as its own individual piece of art/work/entertainment." I could not agree with this statement more. That's why I like Get A Clue, personally.
Scoobylover
2/12/2021 05:17:48 am
Thank you for this academic response everyone should be reading!!!! I agree with everything you said
Fred’s Ascot
2/10/2021 12:53:13 pm
Ehhh I agree with John too. Like I don’t mind them doing something mature like SDMI but even that wasn’t exclusively for adults. The fact that this is exclusively for adults tells me it’s probably going to be raunchy in nature similar to other adult cartoons like Family Guy and American Dad.
John Locke
2/10/2021 01:06:38 pm
Yea, that's the other issue I have, I hear adult animated, I think all the bad things. Now if they had given this to Phil Lord and Chris Miller, or the Venture Bros guys... that'd be a bit different (though I like Lord & Millers all ages work a lot more than 21/22 jump street) 2/10/2021 01:49:46 pm
I fear that's what it will be like Family Guy too, but I'm hoping for the best.
Amber noel
2/10/2021 01:23:05 pm
I don't know what to think about this but when it does come out I don't think can see it because hbo max is only available in the united states and I don't live their. 2/10/2021 01:48:33 pm
Hopefully they release it some other way for people in other countries who want to see it.
Dzsasztin
2/10/2021 01:24:12 pm
Kind of worried, kind of intrigued.
WildwindVampire
2/10/2021 01:50:34 pm
Yes, that's exactly what I want them to mean by adult tone as well. I don't want something super raunchy or inappropriate. I hope they do justice to Velma's character in this. 2/10/2021 01:52:32 pm
I just updated the post with some more info direct from Warner Press. It says the series will be a "humorous spin on the classic" which makes me fear it will be raunchy.
Matt
2/10/2021 11:33:07 pm
Couldn’t agree more about the darker tone. If it’s executed well (which I have doubts about) an adult Scooby series could be really good like that. This comedy description has me worried though 2/11/2021 12:36:52 pm
Same here, as I've said elsewhere on this thread I don't want this to get super raunchy. I'd prefer a darker tone, though I wouldn't mind some "adult" jokes.
John Locke
2/10/2021 01:59:16 pm
....should anyone tell them Scooby-doo is already a comedic series? 2/10/2021 02:41:06 pm
Hahaha that's a great point. I imagine it's just a catchy tagline they didn't really think through, like with Happy Halloween being called "the first Scooby Halloween movie."
John Locke
2/10/2021 02:52:40 pm
Coming soon: A brand new take on the Scooby Doo universe, 4 teens and a dog... solve mysteries!!!!!
Becker
2/10/2021 02:58:34 pm
At this point, bringing back Scrappy wouldn't feel very risky, considering you have stuff like this show being made lol.
whackman
2/10/2021 02:49:45 pm
it's clear to me that the writers are of fresh ideas for the Scooby-Doo franchise. this sound like a truly ridiculous and desperate idea. I do not see the point in yet another origin story arc, we already have a Pup named Scooby-doo, the mystery begins. I for one am tired of these origins stories. I have a bad feeling this will not end well, and that the audience will react very poorly to this. it's clear to me now that the Scooby franchise should definitely end. since these ideas are truly absurd by now. I will definitely not be watching this, since in my opinion this sounds like complete rubbish. 2/10/2021 04:41:18 pm
I'm not really sure where they came up with this idea. It does seem random and out of left field, but I guess in my opinion I don't know if it means they're out of ideas. There will be new writers that come along with new ideas.
Greybishop
2/10/2021 06:13:46 pm
To me this doesn't seem all that "out there". It sounds like someone at HBO was thinking "could we update and Scooby-Doo or part of it in a grown up way?" and then watched the animated Harley Quinn show. 2/10/2021 06:19:37 pm
Fair point. I don't want to judge it until I've actually seen it, so all we can do is wait at this point.
Becker
2/10/2021 02:54:19 pm
R rated animation is very hit or miss. And it varies a lot from person to person. You get stuff from Rick and Morty to Family Guy, Anomalisa to Sausage Party, Ghost in the Shell to Heavy Metal; Isle of Dogs, South Park, Venture Bros, King of the Hill, 9, King Star King, Harvey Birdman, Fritz the Cat, American Dad, a lot of Batman movies etc. They all have different ways of approaching adult animation and they all hit people differently. 2/10/2021 04:41:53 pm
I don't know if this will be rated R. It could just be rated TV-14.
Becker
2/11/2021 01:42:36 am
I don't think it can be TV-14 when it says "adult animation". I mean, Frozen is even PG 13. It's gonna be M or whatever the equivalent of R is for adult animated shows.
Becker
2/11/2021 01:46:10 am
They seem really adamant to note it's for adults, so a 14 year old being legally allowed to watch it wouldn't make sense imo 2/11/2021 09:56:26 am
Could be, but Family Guy and South Park are TV-14, I believe. The equivalent for R for TV shows is MA. I'm confused what you mean by Frozen is PG-13? I just looked it up to be sure and it says both movies are PG.
Becker
2/11/2021 10:29:40 am
My mistake
Matt
2/11/2021 12:17:47 pm
South Park is mostly MA I believe while Family Guy is tv-14 2/11/2021 12:38:10 pm
@Becker No worries, I was just like "Frozen is such a wholesome movie, how did I miss that it was rated PG-13?" lol.
Becker
2/11/2021 12:41:53 pm
Yeah, I didn't think right when I wrote that. Actually thinking about the concept of Frozen somehow being PG 13 is quite baffling lmao
John Locke
2/10/2021 03:05:15 pm
The other thing to worry about here, is a) At &f bought WB to make money, they've already kind of gutted DC, started changing Adult Swim massively, and HBO max didn't release to the numbers they wanted, so I honestly fear this is just throwing everything to the wall and seeing what sticks. The shows brought over from DC universe (doom patrol, Harley Quinn, Titans) all have their fans, but HQ is not the tone I'd ever want for scooby, Titans is trash (sorry to it's fans), and doom Patrol... ok that might work but would change the characters in ways I wouldn't be comfortable with. Considering Velma, I feel at best, this would be Daria where her lesson would be finding friends and learning there are those to depend on, at worst it will be people pick on Velma till she snaps, that's my biggest worry since it's set at school, they'll have people bully her horribly.
Becker
2/10/2021 03:13:45 pm
DC hasn't been gutted. It's actually going very well except for the CW shows. The animated movies, including the universe(s) have been solid, DCEU is doing great (especially after Suicide Squad 2016 and Justice League 2017), The Batman looks like all time greatest potential. Even stuff like Harley Quinn and Swamp Thing are great.
John Locke
2/10/2021 03:16:40 pm
I was talking the comics, they got rid of a lot of people there and last I heard no ones quite sure what will happen. The movies and the shows are different departments. 2/10/2021 04:43:19 pm
Don't know much about DC Comics beyond the Scooby related comics, but if the stock art is anything to go off of, it totally makes since that they're laying people off and trying to just go with as little as they can. 2/10/2021 05:54:37 pm
In case anyone missed it, Mindy posted on Instagram about her role and gave some more info about the series, which I added to the post. It will apparently be about Velma navigating her sexuality, navigating high school, and solving the mystery of a serial killer murdering people.
John locke
2/10/2021 05:57:09 pm
About what I figured, about what I figured, and... about what I feared, I know scooby has had indirect death before (the zombies from zombie island spring to mind), but I'm not sure how to feel about putting death into this... 2/10/2021 06:20:17 pm
I'm not really sure how to feel about it either. It will all really depend on how it's executed (no pun intended).
Shadowscooby
2/10/2021 09:59:25 pm
Well this is a huge surprised. I really don’t know what to expect from this. I have a feeling it won’t last long and we’ll get canceled real soon. That’s just me I could wrong. Like what if gets the same treatment that shaggy and Scooby doo get a clue get? P. S. I don’t hate get a clue it’s just not as populate as other Scooby series. 2/10/2021 10:06:35 pm
Nor do I. They ordered 10 episodes, so I imagine all the episodes will just all be dumped on there at once for people to binge.
Matt
2/10/2021 11:27:09 pm
Here are some quotes I have said and pretty much describe how I feel: 2/11/2021 09:52:33 am
Absolutely agree with all those comments, especially he last paragraph. I don't want Scooby to be Family Guy-ish either, but I'll give it a chance regardless. I'm okay with a few mature jokes as well, but I wouldn't want anything blatantly super inappropriate for the sake of being inappropriate like Family Guy.
Jason
2/10/2021 11:45:12 pm
This sounds like an excuse to do whatever they want to the series lol. 2/11/2021 12:38:59 pm
I'll watch the whole series regardless of how good or bad it is. I've seen every Scooby episode, so I'm not going to stop now lol.
Becker
2/11/2021 01:38:51 am
I'm still not excited for this. There's things to be worried about, there's things that sound interesting. But the idea of a show focused on one character in this franchise isn't something very appealing to me, I'm not really into that stuff. I'll give it a chance, but I won't be surprised if I don't like it.
Matt
2/11/2021 02:07:33 am
Agreed about one character shows 2/11/2021 09:53:22 am
I don't think we know for sure if the gang is going to make cameos though, right? I could see them slipping any (or all) of the other four members in as cameos, or perhaps even side characters.
Becker
2/11/2021 10:31:29 am
My point is the show will focus on only one gang member for like 99% of the time, whether or not there will be cameos.
Matt
2/11/2021 12:19:09 pm
Yeah the cameos would be better than nothing I guess, but they won't be a focus of the show for the most part even if they are on there 2/11/2021 12:40:47 pm
Okay, gotcha. Yeah, I agree with that. I'm not super concerned about it being only Velma-focused yet I guess.
scoobydoouk
2/11/2021 06:44:08 am
Finally!! I've wanted something like this for SO LONG.... 2/11/2021 09:54:09 am
Glad you're excited about it. I would really enjoy the show too if if it was SDMI-like. That's the closest we've gotten to an "adult" Scooby series (if you don't count the Apocalypse comics) to date.
Becker
2/11/2021 10:35:12 am
Reading people's thoughts on this, I love how Family Guy is basically considered the mother of all offensive, raunchy, gallows humor in animation haha
Matt
2/11/2021 12:28:49 pm
I would consider South Park to be beyond Family Guy in those regards, but they are different kinds of shows. South Park is basically just extreme satire mocking society and no one is excluded from getting mocked, and it is truly offensive and inappropriate and I love the show. Family Guy does have some satire and parodies, but is more of a gag-to-gag kind of show and focuses on a more traditional kind of comedy. It is less offensive but also cheaper and doesn't have much of a deeper meaning and frankly, stupider. I don't think we have to worry about it trying to be South Park (which would be a disaster btw), but I think the Family Guy fears are warranted as Family Guy has proven influential in adult animation comedy styles as it is simply easier to write a show that way 2/11/2021 12:36:01 pm
It's fair to like the show. I've seen some clips/episodes of Family Guy and there are quite a few of inappropriate jokes (both sexually explicit and offensive to certain groups). I guess I just wouldn't want something Scooby to be sexually explicit or offensive, but that's just me. I understand and respect that someone might want that from an adult show, however.
Matt
2/11/2021 02:32:46 pm
Trust me I’m definitely with you on that. I don’t enjoy Family Guy simply because the main point is to be stupid and inappropriate. I enjoy South Park because of a larger message but I don’t want or need another one of those, ESPECIALLY not in Scooby Doo and that is one of my strongest opinions about this comedy based show 2/11/2021 02:43:05 pm
I haven't seen South Park at all so I can't comment on it, but absolutely agreed on Family Guy being stupid and inappropriate just for the sake of being stupid and inappropriate, which I don't like.
whackman
2/11/2021 11:29:43 am
I am upset about this in the first place is due to the fact that everyone is okay with how Hollywood is beginning to treat animation. All it takes for a show nowadays to be successful is to have gay themes. Velma doesn't have an origin story outside of the gang. Every member of the gang is the origin story. The only reason they are making this show is due to the "Velma is a lesbian" controversy from last year. Just another big company profiting off the LGBTQ community. Don't you find it funny that as soon as a creator of a franchise dies, that companies just all of a sudden get ideas like this? Why do we need an ADULT themed Velma specific animated series? The fact of the matter is that we don't.
Spooky Space Kook
2/11/2021 12:31:07 pm
If they go with the lesbian theme I will be extremely disappointed and not because I’m anti LGBT but because they are completely changing a character that wasn’t gay to begin with. Witch’s Ghost, Phantosaur, WNSD, etc. all showed Velma as clearly straight.
John Locke
2/11/2021 12:45:28 pm
*Insert "Bi BI BI" gif here* 2/11/2021 12:47:49 pm
Ask and you shall receive. https://media.tenor.com/images/62ed7b7e98c5d77fecc2c2a84d77c594/tenor.gif
John Locke
2/11/2021 01:06:12 pm
Ha! Thanks, also like that link was the 69th comment.
Matt
2/11/2021 02:39:06 pm
I really don’t mind. I would be irritated if they tried to act like Zombie Island and Witchs Ghost didn’t exist and that she was only ever exclusively interested in women, but if it is just for this show I don’t mind if she is a lesbian. I also don’t mind if she has been bisexual the entire time either. With that being said, I do agree that grouping stereotypes like that together is uncreative though and feeding into stereotypes of different communities like that can be harmful 2/11/2021 02:44:24 pm
Grouping stereotypes like that can be very harmful. I wouldn't mind if she was lesbian just for this show either, but yeah, I wouldn't want them to screw up the continuity too much (lord knows we already have enough confusion over the continuity lol).
Sdf
2/11/2021 02:41:19 pm
Wow this came from nothing! I have mixed feelings about this.. 2/11/2021 02:45:18 pm
No kidding haha. Yeah, I think everyone has mixed feelings at this point since we don't know much. I don't think I've seen any comment online that's like "YEAH! CAN'T WAIT!" yet, so I think most people are just waiting for more info and/or a trailer. 2/12/2021 12:29:31 pm
I probably should have scrolled up a bit as I see there was a person who said they can't wait haha, but you get my point :)
Sdf
2/13/2021 02:26:46 pm
Velma is an odd choice for solo series I think. 2/13/2021 03:29:21 pm
It is a tad odd, but like others mentioned I think this could have been inspired by the controversy last year about Velma's sexuality.
John Locke
2/13/2021 03:54:45 pm
It makes sense to me, she's the character besides Scooby/Shaggy that gets a lot of the rumors/talk, also is the easiest to put a solo series around as Fred is kind of attached to Daphne, and why do Shaggy without Scooby.
WildwindVampire
2/13/2021 09:23:44 pm
That's also a great point. Velma is kind of the only one of the gang (unless you count Shaggy in SDMI) that doesn't have a "partner" per se.
John Locke
2/14/2021 03:32:55 am
She's also one of the few who can conceivably solve the entire mystery by herself, wide knowledge base, lots of analytic skills, if it weren't for the glasses thing and Fred being better at applied knowledge (I.E. Traps), Velma could solve the entire mystery and not even need the scooby snacks. 2/14/2021 10:42:09 am
Another great point there. I don't think any member of the gang (usually) would be able to solve the mystery as easy as Velma could.
Jayden
2/12/2021 10:15:58 am
I really think this is a terrible idea and can ruin the perspectives of parents about scooby-doo 2/12/2021 12:29:01 pm
I don't know if it will ruin parents' perspectives on Scooby forever, as this is kind of its own separate thing that I don't think will make parents worry that all Scooby is going to become inappropriate or anything like that. I could be wrong, though.
Jayden
2/12/2021 12:36:10 pm
I know it probably won't happen but it's still a small possibility, the point is that this could be maybe a bit too much for adults
Matt
2/12/2021 12:41:23 pm
I agree with this. This is simply for a different demographic and is advertised as such. I think people need to remember that many people grew up with Scooby Doo and I don't think they should be completely disregarded, even if Scooby Doo should, in most things, be kid-friendly, but I don't see a problem with an exception or two which is kept separate from everything else
Matt
2/12/2021 12:42:56 pm
*this as in with WildwindVampire 2/12/2021 01:30:47 pm
Oh, so I'm a "this" now? Hahaha I'm totally kidding...I think this could be seen as separate from the franchise in a way, sort of like Get A Clue is. The fact that this more mature show exists doesn't change the 50 years of wholesome, kid-friendly Scooby content that we've gotten.
Matt
2/12/2021 06:08:57 pm
Noooooo haha. And yeah all of that content that kids can watch are available on DVDs, Boomerang, HBO max, etc. and I sure an glad for that Leave a Reply. |
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