Velma took over HBO Max when it first debuted earlier this year for better or worse, and the series creator behind the new take on the Scooby-Doo franchise has shared their response to the negative backlash to the series! When Velma was first announced to be in production, fans of the long running Scooby-Doo animated franchise seemingly took umbrage with how much this new spin would be changing the original series. This negativity continued even further when Velma premiered its episodes, and it turned out to be one of the most watched new animated debuts with HBO Max this year so far.
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This negative backlash fueled viewers to check out Velma, and it became one of the streamers top performers, so it was no surprise when plans for a Velma Season 2 were quickly put in place considering how big the response to the new series were overall. Velma series creator, showrunner, and executive producer Charlie Grandy spoke about Velma to Emmy Magazine, and actually had a response to those who didn’t like the new takes on the Scooby-Doo characters.
Velma Creator Responds to Negative Backlash
Responding to critics of Velma‘s new versions of the Scooby-Doo characters, Velma creator Charlie Grandy stated, “The original Hanna-Barbera shows are still out there to watch. We are not erasing the originals. We just want to be a little ice planet on the outer regions of the Scooby-verse!” Detailing how he and series executive producer Mindy Kaling came up with Velma’s concept in the first place Grandy noted, “Mindy came to me and said she’d love to work on a story with Velma…She loved the character and thought it would be funny to have her at the center of a show.”
In making Velma a character of South Asian descent, “We asked ourselves, ‘Why stop there?’” Grandy explained. “None of these characters are rooted to being white. We were worried about going to Warner Bros. and asking them to do it, but they said, ‘Do it. It’s time! Just make sure it’s funny and good!’” It seems like Velma’s changes to its core were approached with making a funny, yet different final product. With Velma Season 2 already in early development, it appears the show was successful!
What did you think of Velma’s debut on HBO Max? Did its changes from the Scooby-Doo franchise bother you? Let us know all of your thoughts about it and everything animation in the comments!
