Scooby-Doo Spinoff Velma Gets HBO Max Premiere Date

Mindy Kaling's Scooby-Doo spinoff, Velma, is heading to HBO Max in January. On Tuesday, the streamer released their "What's New in January" teaser revealing that the adult animated comedy series is set to premiere on Thursday, January 12, 2023. It's unclear at this time what the series' release structure will be. HBO Max released a first-look teaser for Velma back in October at New York Comic Con, featuring Kaling as the voice of the titular Velma Dinkley.

"It just felt like it hadn't been done before," Kaling previously said about the series. "There's so many adult cartoons that Charlie and I love — Rick and Morty, Harley Quinn, which are such great shows. And we just thought these characters... lended themselves so well to an adult version."

What is Velma about?

Velma is an adult animated comedy series telling the origin story of Velma Dinkley, the unsung and underappreciated brains of the Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. gang. This original and humorous spin unmasks the complex and colorful past of one of America's most beloved mystery solvers.

In addition to voicing Velma, Kaling executive produces the series, which is showrun by Charlie Grandy. The cast of the series will also include Crazy Rich Asians' Constance Wu as Daphne, Detroiters' Sam Richardson as Shaggy, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Glenn Howerton as Fred. Additional cast members for the series will include Jane Lynch, Wanda Sykes, Russell Peters, Melissa Fumero, Stephen Root, Gary Cole, Ken Leung, Cherry Jones, Frank Welker, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Fortune Feimster, Yvonne Orji, Sarayu Blue, Nicole Byer, Ming-Na Wen, Shay Mitchell, Debby Ryan, Kulap Vilaysak, and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Could there be crossovers between Velma and other series?

Back in October, series showrunner Charlie Grandy told ComicBook.com that he's excited for the prospect of a crossover between Velma and Harley Quinn.

"If this is a success or does take off, there will absolutely be talks about doing something," Charlie Grandy told ComicBook.com. "Again, that honors the original show, and we want to honor the original Scooby as much as we can. So that's baked into the DNA of the original. So, we'll look for ways to do our take on that."

Velma debuts on HBO Max on Thursday, January 12, 2023.

Are you excited about Velma? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section!