We are super lucky this week, because we've now got two pieces of news about the live-action series this week. The latest episode of the Unmasked History of Scooby-Doo Podcast featured Neil Fanning as a guest. For those who don't know, Neil Fanning was the voice of Scooby in the first two live-action films in 2002 and 2004. In the episode, Neil revealed a few new plot details about the upcoming series. At around 1:53:00 in the podcast, Neil shares that the series will begin with the gang as children. The first episode begins with young Shaggy and Daphne finding a stray puppy, whom they take in because he is a witness to a mystery. Later, they are surprised to find out that Scooby can talk.

In addition, Neil also shared a couple pieces of info about the series overall. Netflix is currently working on casting for the show, and will likely start making casting decisions in the next month. While those decisions haven't been made yet, Neil also shared that he has been speaking with the crew of the series. Nothing's been officially confirmed, but this may mean that he's being considered as a voice of Scooby for the show.

Neil also shared another exciting tidbit unrelated to the series. Next year, he and Matthew Lillard will be reunited at a Comic Con. The date and specific Comic Con are yet to be announced.

Credit goes to Alexa of the Unmasked History of Scooby-Doo Podcast for this news! If you haven't checked out her podcast, I highly recommend doing so for some great Scooby interviews with people involved with the making of the show! A thank you to Jinkies as well for letting me know about the podcast episode.

Update 8/12: Channing's quote has been altered in the article to remove the phrase "this fall." The original wording was a little ambiguous, so I'm guessing that "fall" being removed means that it was actually the table read happening this fall, rather than the start of filming.

It's been five months of radio silence on the new Netflix live-action series. Thanks to Variety, we have another update on the series! A Variety interview with Channing Dungey provided an update on the status of the series. In talking about various Warner Brothers series being filmed, Channing revealed that the series will begin filming sometime this fall. 

Here is Channing Dungey's full quote from the article: "I flew to Toronto for the table read of ‘Memory of a Killer,’ which is our Fox drama that Patrick Dempsey and Michael Imperioli are starring in. And then we have coming up a little bit later this fall, the ‘Scooby Doo’ live action series for Netflix."

Based of that, it sounds like the live-action series likely won't release until next year, but it's exciting to know they're moving forward with it! Thanks to Scooby Snacks for the heads up about this article.

After no news since last April about the live-action series, we got a big announcement today! Netflix announced they've officially picked up the series, and that the first season will be comprised of eight episodes. The show will be written by Midnight Radio's Josh Applebaum and Scott Rosenberg, who are most famous for writing Cowboy Bebop. An X post by Netflix shares the script cover for the first episode, which is written by them. The show is executive produced by Jeff Pinkner and André Nemec. Greg Berlanti,  Leigh London Redman and Sarah Schechter will produce the show. Today, Netflix also shared in a press release. that the series will be an origin story of the gang teaming up to solve their first mystery at Camp Ruby-Spears Here's the official premise for the show:

During their final summer at camp, old friends Shaggy and Daphne get embroiled in a haunting mystery surrounding a lonely lost Great Dane puppy that may have been a witness to a supernatural murder. Together with the pragmatic and scientific townie, Velma, and the strange, but ever so handsome new kid, Freddy, they set out to solve the case that is pulling each of them into a creepy nightmare that threatens to expose all of their secrets.

In the Deadline article with these announcements, a few executives working on the show provided comments about the upcoming series.

"Mystery, Inc. is back in business! We’re excited to bring Scooby-Doo to TV as a live-action series for the first time," said Peter Friedlander (Vice President of Script Series for Netflix) "The beloved franchise has had an impact on pop culture that is undeniable — it’s rich with universal themes of friendship that generations of fans have long embraced. Together with creative powerhouses Berlanti Productions and Midnight Radio, we’re committed to delighting longtime fans and opening up a world of groovy adventures for a new era of meddling kids."

"One of my first and favorite jobs in Hollywood was sitting with Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera while they signed animation cells. Josh and Scott and everyone at Midnight Radio have crafted a story that captures their amazing spirits and their genius creation," Greg Berlanti promises. "We are grateful to them and everyone at Warners and Netflix for the partnership in helping bring this iteration of Scooby-Doo to life!"

"We’re thrilled to collaborate with our longstanding partners at Berlanti Productions and with Midnight Radio to bring the legendary Scooby-Doo franchise to a live-action series for the first time," said Clancy Collins White (WB Television President of Creative Affairs). "It’s no mystery why audiences continue to love these iconic characters after more than a half century. We’re excited for a new generation to discover Mystery Inc. And we’re grateful to our partners at Netflix for the opportunity."

No title or date has been announced yet, but stayed tuned for more info!

Back in April, it was announced that a new Scooby-Doo live action series from Berlanti Productions would be coming to Netflix. Greg Berlanti, CEO of Berlanti Productions, was recently interviewed by Deadline about all of the projects Berlanti Productions is currently working on. In this interview, he shared some additional insight into the upcoming Scooby-Doo live-action series. The biggest news to come from the interview is that the series is that is still in early production. Berlanti mentions in the interview that he "just was working on the pitch for it this morning, for the first episode."

He also stated in another video interview with Deadline that the current plan is to start filming in 6-8 months. (Thanks to Jinkies for finding the clip)

Here's the full excerpt from the Deadline interview:

DEADLINE: What’s cooking with your live-action Scooby-Doo series?
BERLANTI: One of my first jobs in this business was as a temp at Hanna-Barbera. I’d sit with Joe Barbera and Bill Hanna while they autographed animation cels. I would go in the morning and I would retrieve with my boss a bunch of these animation cels. I’d go to Bill Hanna’s office first. He was a very stoic guy. His office was very spare. And then came my favorite part of the day, going to see Joe Barbera. He was such a life force. He would sign the cels, but he would stop and regale me with the greatest stories. He was such a raconteur.

DEADLINE: Give us a good one…
BERLANTI: He would tell stories of how Scooby was created and what they were  thinking, and how it was the late ’60s and kids felt under assault by adults, and they felt overwhelmed and they needed to be empowered. When they pitched it to Bill Paley he was like, you need a dog or something. And that was the birth of Scooby-Doo. Joe was such a special storyteller, and I was so, wow. I’d always loved them as a kid. And again, with any of the properties be they Hanna-Barbera or DC or anything at Warners, you feel lucky to be the historian who helps usher them into a new generation. You just go back to the spirit and the DNA of what makes ’em special. With Scooby-Doo, we went out and heard pitches for a year and a half and finally found one that we really felt really captured it. I just was working on the pitch for it this morning, for the first episode. So we’re really pumped.

Netflix has just announced via Deadline that they've picked up the next Scooby-Doo show, which will be a live-action reimagining of the franchise. The series will be written by Scott Rosenberg and Josh Applebaum, who recently also wrote a live-action re-imagining of Cowboy Bebop. The show is slated to be executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Leigh London Redman, André Nemec, and Jeff Pinkner, as well as writers Rosenberg and Applebaum mentioned above. The show will be produced by Berlanti Productions, who is most famous for having produced The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and recently made the Netflix top 10 last week with Dead Boy Detectives. It's worth noting that the aforementioned listed series are all adult series with TV-14 or above ratings, so while the article doesn't officially confirm it, it is a likely possibility that this is an adult Scooby-Doo show. No other details about the show are currently known, other than the series is tentatively titled Scooby-Doo! The Live Action Series.