HBO Max unveils a brand-new poster for the first-ever adult-themed version of Velma, a spin-off of the beloved family-friendly cartoon Scooby-Doo series. The show will feature 10 episodes for the first season, and Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project) will lend her voice to the lead character.
The series’ episodes will be released two at a time for a duration of five weeks. Velma will follow the origin story of Velma Dinkley, the smart and sassy member of the Scooby-Doo Mystery gang. The show will offer a humorous yet macabre spin to the classic tale of America’s beloved detectives.
Velma Hints ‘It’s Meddling Season’ In The New HBO Max Poster
The voice cast also includes Glenn Howerton as Fred, Constance Wu as Daphne, and Sam Richardson as Shaggy a.k.a. Norville. Kaling and Charlie Grandy will both serve as executive producers of the show. HBO Max recently released a new poster for the series; check out the material below:
It’s meddling season. @VelmatheSeries streams January 12, only on HBO Max. pic.twitter.com/hXvaQC0neR
— HBO Max (@hbomax) January 9, 2023
The series was already making buzz since last year when the studio announced that the upcoming series would feature the character as a lesbian. The sexuality was confirmed when James Gunn, who wrote the script for the live-action movie in the early 2000s, revealed the truth about the studio trying to water down the character. According to Gunn, Velma was explicitly gay.
Supervising producer of the Mystery Incorporated series Tony Cervone also confirmed in a social media post that Velma is not bisexual but gay. He noted that the audience may not like the idea, but that was their intention from the beginning.
“We always planned on Velma acting a little off and out of character when she was dating Shaggy because that relationship was wrong for her and she had unspoken difficulty with the why.”
Kaling also shared her thoughts about the adult theme of the series at the New York Comic Con via Comic Book.
“It just felt like it hadn’t been done before. There’s so many adult cartoons that Charlie and I love — Rick and Morty, Harley Quinn, which are such great shows. And we just thought these characters… lended themselves so well to an adult version.”
The studio has been open about the show not intended for kids viewing. From the sneak peek released months ago, the visuals are quite gory.
Scooby-Doo Fans Are Unhappy With The Spin-Off Series
While many fans of the show anticipate the premiere, some are not happy with what the studio did to the franchise. Check out some of the fans’ tweets below:
We will be watching-
-Literally anything else.
— 💛❤️💙🤍treystar679 (@treystar679) January 9, 2023
Have loved Scooby-Doo content from the start but nowadays they're just ruining the brand
— Syed Hassaan Saeed (@Hassaansaeed22) January 9, 2023
Never seen so much marketing for something literally nobody is going to watch
— dragon_fru1t (@dragon_fru1t) January 9, 2023
I’ll never forgive them for killing scooby pic.twitter.com/2a5Y06sDUL
— 💤 (@zaysadilla) January 9, 2023
We won't be watching the mid, comedic failure self insert. Go and watch puss in boots the last wish pic.twitter.com/y6xY1czqGn
— No Name (@NoName57345864) January 9, 2023
Based on fans’ reactions, many are not enthusiastic about the new twist in the series. While the Halloween season has long been behind us, the spooky theme of the spin-off will attempt to bring the same energy as the original Scooby-Doo series.
Velma will premiere on HBO Max on January 12, 2023.
Source: Comic Book
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