HBO Max finally unveils the new adult Velma series starring Mindy Kaling. The show will give the viewers a mature origin story for Velma and her friends, as first seen at New York Comic Con.
The HBO Max panel shared a sneak peek of Velma’s first episode, where the group started solving a mystery before they officially became the famous crime-solving gang. This first look shockingly consisted of a gross murder, lots of profanities, and even nudity. Mindy Kaling lends her voice to Velma Dinkley, as viewers can hear from the preview episode where she explains the spine-chilling murder mystery.
Adult Velma Series Is Absolutely Rated ‘Not For Kids’
The entire voice cast was also revealed, including Constance Wu as Daphne, Sam Richardson as Shaggy, and Glenn Howerton as Fred. In the sneak peek, viewers will see Daphne and Velma together in a girl’s locker room when a dead body suddenly fell from one of the lockers. The victim is identified as Brenda, and her head is cracked open.
The panel mentioned that the Velma series is not for kids, obviously, and it is somewhat on the level of Harley Quinn and Rick and Morty. After the announcement of Velma becoming officially a lesbian, she is also revealed as a South Asian. Kaling said:
“No one’s imagination ever had a problem with a talking dog solving mysteries, so I think we can handle a brown Velma. When it was announced that I was going to do the voice of Velma, people were very supportive and happy on Twitter. And so I felt great. Then it was announced a month ago that the Velma character would be reimagined as South Asian. And people were not happy. There was a lot of, like, ‘So not Velma!’ Those kinds of tweets. ‘Not the classic Velma that I’m always thinking about.’” (via Deadline)
When the series was announced, people threw racist comments at Kaling’s new project. She addressed the issue when she appeared in Late Night With Seth Meyers in 2021.
Twitter Fans Went Crazy Over First Look At The Characters
This time, fans have mixed reactions about Shaggy, Daphne, and Fred’s first look in the Velma series, and some of them expressed their thoughts on Twitter. Check out these tweets:
Gotta get all the colors of the rainbow in there
— VVillis (@WillisInChains) October 7, 2022
Shaggy switched teams
— Spider-Man (@MrVengeance_) October 6, 2022
— Amell (@amelmallari) October 6, 2022
Judging from the summaries going around, I have some bad news for you…
— My (Damaged) Soul for a Stronger £ (@Cassius335) October 6, 2022
why does Fred look like he’s from a webtoon about gay people
— sophie (@sophie_gm8) October 6, 2022
There’s just more and more reasons for me to not watch this show. pic.twitter.com/9yJEN05g3c
— Sunset Shimmer’s Strongest Simp (@KatoNeg11) October 6, 2022
Many viewers are still not ready to see diversity on screen, or perhaps a character that they grew up watching suddenly changes identity. It is important for filmmakers to be careful when translating representation on screen. But, Kaling also said in her speech that she does not care if people freak out about it in the Velma series.
