Velma is a reboot that betrays its own history. Charlie Grandy’s series, now streaming on HBO Max and Max, is a prequel about the origins of Mystery Inc. before Scooby-Doo even existed. It stars Mindy Kaling as Velma, with Constance Wu as Daphne, Sam Richardson as Norville and Glenn Howerton as Fred. The show premiered on January 12, 2023, and ran for two seasons, finishing with a Halloween special on October 3, 2024. It was canceled shortly after that.
The premise is simple and bold. Velma Dinkley is trying to solve a mystery involving the disappearance of her mother, while a string of murders of local teenage girls unfolds around her. The show is pitched as a “love quadrangle” between the four main characters, which means romantic tension is supposed to be the engine. But the show never settles on what that tension actually is, or what it means for the mystery at hand.
Trailer, via HBO Max.
The Case of the Missing Mother
The show’s central case is the disappearance of Velma’s mother. It is a genuine hook. Velma is driven by grief and by the need to find answers. The show leans on that personal engine for its dramatic weight, and it works better than any of the other story threads.
But the show keeps dropping the ball. The murder cases are full of strange events and red herrings, but the show never commits to a central villain or a consistent mystery structure. Episodes recycle the same beats without building toward a satisfying resolution. The show is more interested in the characters talking to each other than in the mystery itself.
The Voices, Which Are the High Point
The voice acting is the one thing that works. Mindy Kaling, Sam Richardson, Constance Wu and Glenn Howerton all bring energy to their roles. Kaling is the standout here; she carries Velma with a sharp intelligence that the writing does not always support. Wu and Richardson play off each other well, and Howerton gets some nice comic moments. The voices are expressive and distinct, even when the dialogue beneath them is thin.
The animation is competent but unremarkable. Nothing here pushes the technical envelope for adult animated comedy. The show’s visual style is bright and clean, but it does not stay with you after the credits roll. It is the least memorable part of the series.
The Writing, Which Is the Problem
The humor is the show’s fatal flaw. Grandy’s writing leans heavily on self-referential jokes about the Scooby-Doo franchise, and on meta commentary about the characters’ own roles. This is a show that spends more time talking about how the Scooby-Doo universe works than it does building a cohesive mystery story. The humor is dense and frequently misses the mark, landing as a series of inside references that do not land with the people watching.
The show also struggles with characterization. Fred is a self-satisfied jock who is only slightly more rounded than his cartoon counterpart. Daphne is a fashion-obsessed ingénue who is given little room to grow beyond that. Norville is the most developed of the four, but even he is kept at arm’s length by the script’s refusal to give him real emotional weight. Velma is the only character who feels like she has a past, but the show never fully explores what that past means for her present.
The Audience, Which Was Not Won Over
Audience reception was overwhelmingly negative. The online reaction to Velma was immediate and harsh, with viewers tuning out in droves. The show never found an audience, and its cancellation came swiftly after the Halloween special aired in October 2024. The show was confirmed canceled six days after that special’s premiere.
The show’s creators were aware of the problem. The show was pitched as a “love quadrangle,” which suggests a romantic story, but the show never commits to that story. The show never makes clear what the romantic tension is supposed to be. It is a love quadrangle in name only, and the name is the only thing that is clear.
What the Show Does Well
The show is not a complete failure. It has some genuinely funny moments, and the voice acting is excellent. Mindy Kaling carries the show with a sharp intelligence that the writing does not always support. The show’s visual style is bright and clean, even if it is not memorable. The show’s central mystery about Velma’s mother, while underdeveloped, is a genuine hook that the show occasionally returns to with real emotional weight.
But these strengths are overwhelmed by the show’s weaknesses. The humor is too dense, the characterization is too thin and the overall structure is too loose. The show never commits to a central mystery, a central villain or a central emotional arc. It is a show about four people talking about themselves and the show they are in, and that is not enough to sustain a full season.
The Verdict
Velma is a failure of ambition. The show is trying to do something bold — a prequel that reimagines the Scooby-Doo franchise without its titular character — but it never commits to that ambition. The show keeps talking about its own cleverness and its own mysteries, but it never delivers on either promise. The show is a missed opportunity for a franchise that has been running for decades.
The show’s cancellation is a relief for its audience and a cautionary tale for its creators. When a show cannot find its footing, the best thing is to end it. Velma is a show that knew what it wanted to say but could not say it clearly.
- Premiere: January 12, 2023
- Season 2 release: April 25, 2024
- Halloween special: October 3, 2024
- Canceled: Confirmed October 9, 2024
- Score: 5.4/10
The show’s cancellation is a relief for its audience and a cautionary tale for its creators. When a show cannot find its footing, the best thing is to end it. Velma is a show that knew what it wanted to say but could not say it clearly. It is a failure of ambition, and it deserves to be forgotten.
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