Reimagining the mystery-solvers from Scooby-Doo for the adult animated series Velma has been a risk that doesn’t seem to be working out all too well for HBO Max. Featuring executive producer Mindy Kaling voicing Velma in a new origin story for the character, the series debuted on HBO Max earlier this month to a mostly negative reception. Its critical scores were fairly mixed, premiering with a 55% rotten score on the Tomatometer at Rotten Tomatoes, while the audience score was much lower, opening at 11% rotten.
While the show has garnered high viewership, these scores are obviously not what the power that be at HBO Max had been hoping for. But some reviewers had stated in their reviews that they saw potential in Velma despite a rocky start, optimistic that the series will improve as the episodes continue. Following the arrival of episodes 3 and 4, however, the scores are only continuing to fall. The Tomatometer now lists Velma at 52% rotten on the Tomatometer while the audience score has plummeted to a very low 6% score.
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The negative reviews can’t necessarily be attributed to any one reason why Velma largely isn’t working with viewers, as there are many different complaints people have cited. Even before the show’s arrival, the concept alone had garnered criticism when it was revealed that there were no plans to include Scooby-Doo. A Scooby-Doo reboot series without the dog was a hard pill for many fans to swallow, putting Velma on an uphill battle to be well-received by many ahead of its HBO Max debut. Meanwhile, major changes made to the Mystery Inc. characters along with the show’s sense of humor have also come under some fire.
Velma Is Not a Critical Hit
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Velma isn’t beloved, but it wasn’t a total dud for HBO Max. The show debuted as the most-watched original animated series on HBO Max, so even if there were a lot of negative reviews, it didn’t stop a lot of people from tuning in. It remains to be seen if HBO Max will indeed commit to a second season based on the viewership numbers alone, or if the harsh reviews would have them limiting Velma to a single season.
Velma is developed by Charlie Grandy and inspired by the original characters from Hanna-Barbera Productions. It follows a teenage Velma investigating a dark mystery as she gets caught up in a “love quadrangle” between Fred (Glenn Howerton), Norville (Sam Richardson), and Daphne (Constance Wu).
The first four episodes of Velma are streaming on HBO Max, with the next pair of episodes set to arrive on Jan. 26.
