credit: Warner Bros
Velma has been a name most commonly associated with Scooby-Doo over anything else, so for another franchise to use the name would feel like thievery. So, as HBO Max parent company Warner Bros. Discovery has the rights for Scooby-Doo, it’s only proper that the character got a modern take in the form of an origin story set to premiere on the platform. Below, we’ve detailed the upcoming adult-animated show “Velma” from Mindy Kaling of “The Office,” headed to HBO Max, announced in February 2021.
credit: Warner Bros
Velma
As stated above, Velma has been a name most commonly associated with Scooby-Doo since the first iteration of the popular cartoon, “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” as the character was unique and certainly different from the average cartoon portrayal of a female cartoon character from the era. Even compared to Daphne, a character seen on-screen with Velma more often than not and in the various forms of the show, has even stated how different they were from each other.
credit: Warner Bros
Scooby-Doo
The franchise of Scooby-Doo began as another Hanna-Barbera Production to mixed reviews, as noted by its short two-season run, but that hasn’t stopped constant variations of the franchise and the characters within it. Overall, every iteration of Scooby-Doo’s characters has had one objective: to solve crimes and mysteries that appear to have a supernatural backing. While the first season of Scooby-Doo premiered in 1969, the characters have been revived in crossovers, comic books, new cartoon series, cartoon movies, and live-action renditions up until today. With the upcoming “Velma” on HBO Max, there’s another to add to the extensive list.
credit: Warner Bros
Mindy Kaling’s “Velma” on HBO Max
While Mindy Kaling may be most noted for her time as a writer and actor on “The Office,” she has gotten her hand in plenty of other pieces of work, including her own show, “Mindy.” However, “Velma” on HBO Max will be putting Mindy in not only the executive producer seat but behind the wheel of Velma herself by voicing the character. Fans of Mindy as a comedy writer have been hopeful that Kaling will also become a writer for the show. As hopeful as fans are that Mindy will return to the writer’s room, she will work alongside Howard Klein and Charlie Grandy, also from “The Office,” so some chemistry will undoubtedly be found behind the scenes. Although initially announced some time ago, Mindy Kaling most recently confirmed that her character will be portrayed as South Asian, and she’s prepared for backlash. Kaling was on stage at Warner Bros Discovery Upfront presentation earlier this year in May, where she presented the official first look of “Velma” on HBO Max. As the show was originally, and simply, labeled as an “adult animated comedy” that will explore the origins of Velma, but now, with the first look, it has appeared that the show will also have some gore and, at least, slight nudity that looks and sounds somewhere along the lines of the animated “Harley Quinn” adult animated series, also on HBO Max. While it’s currently unknown if “Velma” on HBO Max will explore the sexual orientation of the character, again similar to “Harley Quinn,” several pieces of work, including those from fans, have depicted Velma as gay, and even James Gunn felt that way as well with his live-action adaptations. Still, the character was changed with the studio intervening.
credit: Warner Bros
What to Expect from “Velma” on HBO Max
Right now, we know we will definitely see gore, mystery, a new origin story, and a familiar but fresh animated style that resembles more modern cartoons than classic Hanna-Barbera projects in the upcoming “Velma” project on HBO Max from Mindy Kaling. As “Velma” will be an origin story, it will reflect Velma in her high school teenage years, but this won’t be the first time that the character has been depicted in this sense; with the vast amount of Scooby-Doo projects, there have been since 1969. It’s also known that HBO Max has approved the series for ten episodes, and while we don’t know the runtime, as HBO Max doesn’t have to adhere to commercials, it’s likely the show could have approximately 40-minute episodes. HBO Max announced other adult animated shows as well, such as a reboot of “Clone High” and “Fired On Mars,” when it had ordered “Velma.” To compare “Velma” to “Harley Quinn” again, as it’s the closest comparison to what “Velma” could look like on HBO Max currently. However, that runs for 22 minutes per episode; it has just premiered its third season in July after a two-year hiatus. A successful show based on another character created to showcase a darker, more comedic, and certainly a more adult-rated version of a well-known character, Harley Quinn, marking hope for “Velma” and its future before it even has an announced release date.announced in February 2021.
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