Reimagining the brainiest member of the Scooby-Doo gang, Velma recently premiered on HBO Max. Featuring the voice of executive producer Mindy Kaling as the titular mystery-solver, the series pulled in very high viewership upon the premiere of its first two episodes. This made Velma the most-watched premiere for an original animated series on HBO Max in the streaming platform's history.
"Thank you everyone for watching!" Kaling said in a tweet touting the news.
Charlie Grandy created the series and serves as an executive producer alongside Kaling, Howard Klein, and Sam Register. Velma also reimagines the other human members of Mystery Inc., with Glenn Howerton voicing Fred Jones, Sam Richardson as Norville "Shaggy" Rogers, and Constance Wu as Daphne Blake. A certain pup named Scooby-Doo is not included in the series, as that was a mandate set forth by Warner Bros. ahead of production.
Frank Welker, who has voiced Fred Jones since 1969 and Scooby-Doo since 2002, plays William Jones, Fred's father. The voice cast also includes Russell Peters, Melissa Fumero, Jane Lynch, Wanda Sykes, Nicole Byer, Gary Cole, Stephen Root, Ming-Na Wen, Shay Mitchell, Fortune Feimster, and "Weird Al" Yankovic.
Viewership Is High, But What About the Reviews?
Reviews from critics have been mixed, as Rotten Tomatoes scores Velma with a 53% approval rating. Its audience score is much lower at 7% rotten. This comes after the premiering of the first two episodes, and it's possible that these scores could rise once more episodes are released. In any case, it's a rough start for the show to garner these kinds of reviews, even with Velma's high viewership. Some reviewers see promise in the show's future while conceding that the premiere wasn't exactly perfect.
"Velma is doing a lot -- possibly too much -- but there are emotional beats and comedic gags that do land amid a saturated creative canvas, including arcs for the future Mysteries, Inc gang that combine existing backstory with eclectic Velma flourishes," writes Proma Khosla of IndieWire.
QiiBO's Jorge Rivera Rubio adds, "While didn't won me over completely, it did leave me interested enough to see if it reaches its full potential of a story that feels unique and different, with love and good humor for the characters."
Velma is streaming on HBO Max. The next two episodes will arrive on Jan. 19, as episodes will release in pairs until the season concludes on Feb. 9.