The future of
Scooby-Doo spin-off series Velma has been renewed for season 2.
After a first season riddled with controversy and backlash, HBO Max has confirmed that the animated series will return for a second season. Despite the criticism, the series has become the most-watched animated show on the streaming platform.
“Velma” has been renewed for Season 2 at Max. The announcement was made at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival by Suzanna Makkos, the executive vice president of original comedy and adult animation for Max and Adult Swim, during her “Share With” session.
Parents need to know that Velma is an animated update/spin-off of the beloved 1970s cartoon Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? But this one is intended for adults: There's much more mature material here than in the original.
While in Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! and Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated, Velma is portrayed as a lesbian, here she's better described as bisexual or pansexual. Apparently, she has crushes on both Daphne and Fred in the show, and her feelings for them are discussed early on.
“I didn't expect it to blow up.” For those who have followed the long-running animated franchise, it was probably no surprise that Velma is a lesbian. Fans have heralded her as a queer icon, and previous Scooby-Doo writers and producers have tried to depict her as such for at least 20 years.
Pictures released the first live-action film Scooby-Doo, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne and Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred. After watching this live-action film, it's clear that Fred and Daphne are an official couple, evidenced by scenes where they kiss, and fans' speculations are proved right.
In Ruby and Spears' original series bible, Fred and Shaggy are each 17 years old, Daphne is 16, and Velma is 15. For the purposes of this series, the kids were made roughly the same age: 16-17 in season 1, and 17-18 in season 2.
Now, with the forthcoming animated film Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!, Velma's preference for girls has finally been confirmed … and she even gets a girlfriend in the form of glamorous new character Coco Diablo.
Shaggy decided to break up with Velma in favor of his relationship with Scooby, ultimately deciding that he wasn't ready for a committed relationship. Velma became irate and inconsolable at the realization that he chose a dog over her.
It would seem that the most obvious solution after such a failure would be to cancel the show. But recently it was announced that the Velma's been renewed for a second season.
Explaining why Scooby isn't in it, creator Charlie Grandy told Variety that it came down to the direction of the show. He said: "It felt like what made it a kids' show was Scooby-Doo." Interestingly, the live-action Scooby-Doo films feature both adult humour and Scooby.
The reason is that the original Velma character was a white American, whereas the new character has been race-swapped, and is now South Asian. Since the character is voiced by Mindy Kaling, who is of Indian descent, this evidently played a part in the decision to make such a sweeping change to the character's identity.
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“Velma is finally confirmed to be part of the LGBTQ+ community in the latest Scooby-Doo film 'TRICK OR TREAT,'” the tweet said. Creatives behind the numerous “Scooby-Doo” adaptations have for years tried to disambiguate Velma's sexuality.
During the first season of the 2010–2013 series Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, Velma is in a romantic relationship with Shaggy, much to the distaste of Scooby-Doo. Their relationship ends in "Howl of the Fright Hound" (season 1, episode 10).
After reading it, Fred loses his misogynistic perspective on women and begins realizing his behaviour was wrong. He also gains a crush on Velma, but Velma no longer has a crush on him due to witnessing his immature and selfish personality.
Kaling's Velma is now Indian, while Wu's Daphne is portrayed as Asian, and Richardson's Norville is African American rather than being white.
Velma Dinkley is Shaggy's official love interest in Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated; it is the first series to have an officially stated romantic relationship between the two.
Gibby Norton is a geek who has a crush on Velma he keeps meeting the gang and is sometimes the villain. He has done many unwise things to impress Velma.
As pre-teens, Fred was always impressed at how Daphne figured out the most obvious answers whenever he couldn't figure them out and usually splits-up with him. After growing up, Fred started to develop feelings for Daphne and gets jealous whenever she starts paying attention to another man.
Much will be made of the demographic swaps, as “Velma” is indeed a “Scooby-Doo” that looks like America. Velma is Indian American, Norville is Black, and Daphne appears to be of Asian descent, though she's the adopted daughter of married lesbian detectives Donna and Linda (Jane Lynch and Wanda Sykes).
In Velma, their worlds collide again and it soon becomes apparent that they have romantic feelings for each other. At the end of episode 2, Velma and Daphne kiss. In the following episodes, they admit to being attracted to each other but decide that they should resist their feelings and become friends again instead.
While speaking to Variety, show creator Charlie Grandy explained that Scooby's absence was partly due to the creators being unable to figure out how to do an adult take on the character and also partly because Warner Bros. Animation told him that they could not use the iconic dog.