Velma

2023 - 1 - 12

'Velma' tries to milk grown-up laughs out of 'Scooby-Doo's' pre-dog ... (CNN)

"This is my story, told my way," the title character narrates at the outset of "Velma," an adult-oriented take on "Scooby-Doo" that demonstrates the limits ...

When classmates start dying (specifically – Ruh-roh – having their brains extracted), Velma leaps into investigator mode, although having a serial killer in town takes a back seat to the indignities of the high-school years and raging hormones. Sorry, but goofing around with a Sporadically witty but ultimately rather tedious, the HBO Max comedy leverages more than a half-century of name equity to yield an animated prequel that’s definitely not for kids, meddling or otherwise.

'Velma': Mindy Kaling Addresses the Relationship Between Velma ... (Collider.com)

Mindy Kaling & creator Charlie Grandy open up about the sexuality and relationships between their characters in the HBO Max series Velma.

Fred (voiced by Glenn Howerton) seems to be involved in the murders of two girls and the disappearance of Velma’s mother, and Norville (voiced by Sam Richardson) is a band nerd who is expected to become "stoner-coded Shaggy," however, out of all the changes from the diverse cast to Velma’s sexuality, the most obvious change is the absence of Scooby-Doo. Kaling noted that there have been speculations about Velma’s sexuality for years and the idea of exploring her character felt like a gift. Mindy Kaling, who voices Velma in the upcoming HBO Max’s adult animated series, Velma, has shared some details about how she and the show’s creator, Charlie Grandy, came up with the origin story and love lives of the Mystery Inc gang.

Mindy Kaling's HBO Max comedy 'Velma' proves 'Scooby-Doo' isn't ... (USA TODAY)

Let the kids have their 'Bluey.' Old 'Scooby-Doo' fans can bask in the nostalgia of Mindy Kaling's adult take on a classic with animated 'Velma.'

](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2022/10/05/new-scooby-doo-halloween-movie-velma-lesbian-queer/8186893001/) that first depicted Velma as queer – have made a huge cultural dent. Joe,” "Snorks" and “Jem.”) The 1970s TV episodes teaming the gang with famous guest stars introduced little ones to the likes of the Harlem Globetrotters, Sandy Duncan, Cass Elliot, Don Knotts and Batman and Robin. [Mindy Kaling](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2021/07/23/mindy-kaling-reacts-critics-over-velma-role-scooby-doo-spinoff/8075720002/), the new cartoon (streaming two episodes weekly beginning Thursday) is the latest attempt to reboot Velma Dinkley and the rest of Mystery Inc., that gang of meddling kids and their scaredy dog famous for revealing criminals in fog-congested conditions since the late 1960s. The older folks – aka the people who can watch “Velma” without getting in trouble with their parents – grew up with Scooby and pals during their heyday. Formerly known as Shaggy in previous series and movies, Norville (Sam Richardson) is a Black band geek and Velma’s loyal go-to pal. “Velma,” however, smartly chooses to go the way of Disney+’s [“Chip ’N Dale Rescue Rangers”](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2022/05/20/downton-abbey-chip-n-dale-new-films-streaming-theaters/9797424002/) and Netflix’s recent [“Masters of the Universe” reimagining](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2022/07/21/dolph-lundgren-william-shatner-he-man-comic-con/10118353002/) with an adults-first strategy. “Velma” gives its iconic cast a multicultural makeover and a high school origin story. Hardcore fans might be going “ruh roh” to all that. [“Bluey”](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2022/08/09/bluey-season-3-disney-show-parents-love-more-than-kids/10246744002/) and “Paw Patrol.” Naked teen girls tussling in a gym shower is a fairly good hint. [“Velma”](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2022/05/18/mindy-kaling-defends-south-asian-velma-scooby-doo-spinoff/9828706002/) makes it abundantly clear we’re not playing by the old [“Scooby-Doo”](https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2023/01/04/what-kind-dog-scooby-doo/10476967002/) rules anymore.

Is 'Velma' Gay? Mindy Kaling Talks HBO Max Animated Show (Variety)

'Vema' star Mindy Kaling and creator Charlie Grandy discuss how they innovated the classic 'Scooby-Doo' characters, including via Velma's love life.

There’s a lot of other reasons why it would be challenging for the two of them to be together, and them maturing and realizing what their priorities are is what’s fun about the show.” “It just felt like, if we can have the characters be anything, why not do something new?” “It really started with the idea of it being an origin story,” Grandy says. Going from that, why not just expand the diversity of the cast?” It was one of the reasons why it really felt worthy to do an origin story of her.” The loss is so visceral that Velma begins to have life-threatening hallucinations any time she works too hard on solving a mystery, and in an attempt to snap Velma out of out of one such spell, Daphne wraps her into a kiss.

HBO Max's 'Velma' Is Getting Absolutely Savaged In Reviews And ... (Forbes)

Velma always seemed like a bit of an odd experiment, a re-imagining of Scooby Doo in adult animation format where the danger is real and the jokes are more ...

Right now, Velma has really nothing else to compare itself to in terms of how badly it’s scoring, and it cannot blame a politically driven review bombing campaign given that both sides of the aisle dislike it for different reasons. Scooby Doo has found great success over the years as both a kids cartoon and with live action movies, and while it’s possible some adult animation version of the concept could have worked, this iteration seems to have rubbed all potential audiences the wrong way. It’s led what you might have assumed would be a more left-leaning fanbase for the show to accuse creator Mindy Kaling of making it actually a somewhat conservative project, as people cite past comments she’s made and things like her liking recent JK Rowling tweets as evidence of her personal views. Though even that climbed to a 13% audience score eventually. It's a shame, because this really is a stellar cast here. Before you hop in and say “well this is people review bombing the show because it’s made the cast more diverse” that’s…kind of one of the weirdest things here.

How to watch Mindy Kaling's Velma from HBO (Radio Times)

Scooby Doo fans are in luck, as Mystery Inc have just got a brand-new makeover in Velma, the new series starring Mindy Kaling on HBO. Advertisement.

[subscribe now](http://radiotimes.com/magazine-subscription?utm_term=evergreen-article). "I work on a couple other shows about young women, and it just felt like this gift to explore that, knowing that there’s all these expectations for the character. The new series catches up with Velma years after the disappearance of her mother. [Fantasy](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/fantasy/) coverage or visit our [TV Guide](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/tv-listings/) and [Streaming Guide](https://www.radiotimes.com/streaming-guide/)to find out what's on this week. [Velma](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/mindy-kaling-scooby-doo-prequel/), the new series starring Mindy Kaling on HBO. [learn more](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/commercial-links-on-radiotimes-com/))

Mindy Kaling: 'Velma' honors 'Scooby-Doo,' celebrates diversity (UPI.com)

Mindy Kaling says her new Velma Dinkley origin story, "Velma," updates and honors a cherished character to whom she and millions of others related when they ...

"Her figuring it all out is a big part of the show and why it's really fun to do." What really drew them together and what sort of kicked it off?'" "What did they go through in high school that was so bad that pushed them to want to do that," Grandy asked rhetorically. "Her self-discovery is a really big part of this series. At the time we were like, 'Why wouldn't they be in this day and age?'" "This is a scary show with murders. "It's such an amazing series, the 1960s show, and we love it. "As a kid watching the reruns of the original Scooby-Doo, I felt like I really identified with this character. She has a lot of these amazing qualities," the 43-year-old actress said. She just helps the gang out because she is so smart." We love Scooby-Doo so much and we're going to honor it.'" One of the things we liked about it was these high school kids being really brave and having to deal with something very scary," she said.