Velma
| WARNING! This series contains content that may not be seen as age appropriate or upsetting for some readers. Reader discretion is advised. |
- This article is about the TV series. For the first episode of Velma, see "Velma." For the character herself, see Velma Dinkley.
| Velma | |
|---|---|
 No dogs allowed. | |
| Created by | Charlie Grandy |
| Network | Max[Note 1] |
| Production company | Charlie Grandy Productions Kaling International, Inc. 3 Arts Entertainment Warner Bros. Animation |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Television |
| Original release | January 12, 2023 |
| Run time | 26 minutes |
| Starring | Mindy Kaling Glenn Howerton Sam Richardson Constance Wu |
| Executive producer(s) | Charlie Grandy Mindy Kaling Howard Klein |
| Music composed by | Craig DeLeon |
| Writer(s) | Charlie Grandy |
| Director(s) | Anne Walker Farrell |
| Series navigation | |
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Velma, also known as Velma: The Series, is an American adult animated mystery/dark comedy television series created by Charlie Grundy. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation, in association with Charlie Grandy Productions, Kaling International, Inc., and 3 Arts Entertainment, for Max (formerly HBO Max). It ran from 2023 to 2024, airing ten episodes across two seasons, as well as a post-series special. It is the fourteenth Scooby-Doo series after Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
In season 1, Velma is the prime suspect in the murder of one of the popular girls at Crystal Cove High School. To clear her name, she must recruit her former best friend and current bitch Daphne, her boyfriend and Velma's crush, Fred, and Norville, a fellow nerd who has the unrequited crush on her.
Production
Development
The "Velma" name was trademarked and the series was announced on February 10, 2021 with a 10 episode order from HBO Max, with Warner Bros. Animation producing.[1][2] The same day on Instagram, Mindy Kaling one of its executive producers who will also star as its lead, shed some light on the above-mentioned plot, while also making a point of mentioning Velma's budding sexuality.[3]
On June 8, 2021, Tom Ascheim, President of Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics, claimed the series was in a "different world," that Velma would be of East Asian descent, and would include Shaggy, Fred, and Daphne, but not Scooby, or the Mystery Machine.[4] Scooby's absence was because the producers felt that he didn't belong in the adult world they were creating, combined with the fact that Warner Bros. Animation forbade it. Although dogs like him may be alluded to.[5]
Production officially began on June 1, 2021.
On May 18, 2022, Kaling presented the first look of the series at the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront.[6]
Two months later on July 11, the trademark of "Velma" was abandoned for unclear reasons, but was reinstated on October 5, after a grant extension was approved.[1]
The first episode premiered at New York Comic Con on October 3.[7]
Twitter and Instagram social accounts were launched on September 3.[8][9]
On October 6, 2022, a teaser trailer was released, mocking the negative fan reactions to the changes, by using Velma to complain about an in-universe change surrounding Judy Jetson, but relieved she was still kept white. The trailer ended with the announcement that the series would be streamed in 2023.
Deadline reported on February 13, 2023, that a second season was underway.[10]
On April 1, 2024, it was announced by Max that they would premiere the second season on April 25.[11][12]
On October 7, 2024, background artist Davey Cummings unofficially announced on a deleted Instagram post that the series had been canceled.[13] Two days later, TV Line broke the news with Max's official announcement.[14]
Casting
On the same day the series was announced to be in development, Mindy Kaling was confirmed to be the voice of Velma.[2]
At New York Comic Con, Glenn Howerton, Constance Wu, and Sam Richardson, who were revealed to be playing Fred, Daphne, and Shaggy (or rather, Norville), respectively.[15]
In December 2021, Frank Welker, the original voice of Fred from the original series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, revealed he would be playing a new character,[16] which turned out to be none other than Fred's dad, William.[17]
Music
The music was composed by Craig DeLeon, and edited by Todd Dahloff and Joe Corcoran in the first and second seasons, respectively.
Episodes
| Title | Original air date |
|---|---|
1x01
|
January 12, 2023 |
| 1x02 | January 12, 2023 |
| 1x03 | January 19, 2023 |
| 1x04 | January 19, 2023 |
| 1x05 | January 26, 2023 |
| 1x06 | January 26, 2023 |
1x07
|
February 2, 2023 |
| 1x08 | February 2, 2023 |
| 1x09 | February 9, 2023 |
| 1x10 | February 9, 2023 |
| 2x01 | April 25, 2024 |
| 2x02 | April 25, 2024 |
| 2x03 | April 25, 2024 |
2x04
|
April 25, 2024 |
| 2x05 | April 25, 2024 |
| 2x06 | April 25, 2024 |
| 2x07 | April 25, 2024 |
| 2x08 | April 25, 2024 |
| 2x09 | April 25, 2024 |
| 2x10 | April 25, 2024 |
Special
| Title | Original air date |
|---|---|
| Velma: This Halloween Needs To Be More Special! | October 3, 2024 |
Cast
- Mindy Kaling as Velma Dinkley
- Constance Wu as Daphne Blake
- Sam Richardson as Norville Rogers
- Glenn Howerton as Fred Jones
Celebrity guests
These are treated like additional cast members, but they are glorified guests.
- Russell Peters
- Jane Lynch
- Wanda Sykes
- Melissa Fumero
- Stephen Root
- Gary Cole
- Yvonne Orji
- Sarayu Blue
- Cherry Jones
- Karl-Anthony Towns
- Nicole Byer
- Ken Leung
- Ming-Na Wen
- "Weird Al" Yankovic
- Fortune Feimster
- Shay Mitchell
- Debby Ryan
- Kulap Vilaysack
- Ed Weeks
- Vanessa Williams
Promotion
Photos
Promo card with original font.
Season 1 teaser poster.
Season 1 poster.
Snapchat filter for season 1.
Season 2 poster.
Halloween special poster.
Videos
Teaser trailer:
Full-length trailer:
Snapchat
On January 13, 2022, Snapchat launched a filter that gives the user the appearance of Velma's glasses and the hallucination effects of monster arms grabbing for the user.[18]
Footnotes
References
- ^ a b "Velma Trademark Information". Trademarkia. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
- ^ a b Otterson, Joe (February 10, 2021). "Velma Dinkley Series Starring Mindy Kaling, ‘Clone High’ Reboot Among HBO Max Adult Animation Orders". Variety. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
- ^ Kaling, Mindy (February 10, 2021). "I'm so excited to be voicing this iconic character! Velma will struggle to navigate the pitfalls of high school, her budding sexuality, and a serial killer intent on murdering every popular kid in town. Sounds epic, @charliegrandy! Can’t wait!". Instagram. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
- ^ TV Kids Summer Festival 2021 (June 8, 2021). "Keynote: WarnerMedia’s Tom Ascheim" (22:03-22:31). World Screen Events. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
- ^ Rouse, Isaac (October 6, 2022). "Mindy Kaling & ‘Velma’ Cast Talk M.I.A. Scooby-Doo & ‘Modern’ Changes at NYCC 2022 Panel". TV Insider. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
- ^ Rice, Lynette (May 18, 2022). "Mindy Kaling Addresses Turning ‘Velma’ Into Story About South Asian Crime Solver: ‘If People Freak Out About That, I Don’t Care’; First-Look Revealed". Deadline. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
- ^ Milligan, Mercedes (September 12, 2022). "NYCC: WBD Spotlights ‘Velma,’ Tartakovsky’s ‘Unicorn,’ DC Animation & More". Animation Magazine. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
- ^ Velma (September 3, 2022). "If you thought my first tweet would be “Jinkies” you don’t know me as well as you think!". Twitter. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
- ^ (September 3, 2022). "If this was really my story told my way, they wouldn’t have shot me from such an unflattering angle!". Instagram. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
- ^ White, Peter (February 13, 2023). "https://deadline.com/2023/02/channing-dungeys-warner-bros-tv-comedy-business-mindy-kaling-hacks-1235256372/". Deadline. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ Max (April 1, 2024). "Not a joke. All new movies, series, and shows coming your way this April on Max.". Twitter. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (April 10, 2024). "‘Velma’ Season 2 Sets Premiere Date at Max". Variety. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
- ^ Cummings, Davey (October 7, 2024). "Backgrounds I painted for Velma Halloween Special. So fun working with this crew. There will not be a season 3, but I hope I get to work with these amazing talented people again one day. GO WATCH VELMA HALLOWEEN SPECIAL ON MAX!!". Instagram (dead link). Retrieved October 8, 2024.
- ^ Swift, Andy (October 9, 2024). "Mindy Kaling’s Velma Cancelled at Max After 2 Seasons (Exclusive)". TV Line. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
- ^ Porter, Rick (October 6, 2022). "Mindy Kaling’s ‘Velma’ HBO Max Series Assembles Its Scooby Gang". Variety. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
- ^ Sandford, Seb (December 4, 2021). "My Virtual GalaxyCon Video Chat with Frank Welker" (at 5:53). YouTube. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
- ^ Velma (October 6, 2022). "@megawelker [not authentic literally created Fred Jones. And not only because he was the original voice of Fred but also because he’s now playing our Fred's dad, William Jones."]. Twitter. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
- ^ @velmatheseries (January 13, 2023). "If you’ve ever wondered what my hallucinations are like, try the #VelmatheSeries lens". Twitter. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
