We’ve known for a while that WB had hired Mindy Kaling to develop an animated series for adults based around the Scooby Doo franchise. We just didn’t know if it was still happening, as no one has job security at HBO Max anymore, especially if they work in animation. This week’s New York Comic-Con brought with it confirmation that “Velma” is still happening and to prove it, the first-ever publicly released teaser for the series.
Whenever you hear about an “adult” cartoon, that could mean a lot of things. At worst, it could mean all anyone is going to do is mash together a bunch of locker room jokes and call their job done. The smart ones actually write for adults in an intelligent sense, using wit and satire along with the permitted sex and violence. Which kind of show is Velma? From what we can tell so far, it’s the smart type — thank God.
The first time we hear Velma (who is also voiced by Kaling), she’s sending an open letter of complaint to Warner Bros because she just heard of a new cartoon take on Judy Jetson and she’s demanding the character remain exactly the same. It’s meant to skewer the predictable incel response to this cartoon, because as Velma turns to the camera, she reveals she’s of Indian descent just like Kaling. “At least Judy’s still white!” Dinkley says. Savage and brilliant.
Attendees of the Velma panel at NYCC also got to see the entire first episode, and it’s full of similar gags like this. As the teaser hints, viewers should not expect anything close to the traditional Scooby Gang as this take is completely, utterly different in every way.
The characters are in high school. Shaggy goes by his birth name, Norbert, and is rather straight-laced and the opposite of the high-strung hippie we’re familiar with (Kaling says this could change as the character evolves). Daphne is a popular mean girl and Velma’s frenemy. Sam Richardson plays Norbert and both are Black; Constance Wu voices Daphne and both are Asian (is her red hair from a bottle then?) Kaling says WB would not allow them to use Scooby.
There’s a lot of potential in Velma and we hope we get the chance to see the full thing. Assuming there won’t be another round of tax write-offs, the series will premiere in 2023 on HBO Max.
