There were many who had something negative to say when it was announced that HBO Max’s Velma series would reimagine Velma Dinkley as South Asian, and Mindy Kaling is clapping back with the first teaser tariler for the show. Featuring Kaling as the voice of the titular brainiac, Velma is the first adult animated series in the Scooby-Doo franchise, putting Velma into more extreme situations than she faced in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?. The first teaser trailer was unveiled at New York Comic-Con on Thursday and is now available to watch online, showcasing the show’s adult elements with a Scream-style serial killer stalking Velma.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

Watch the teaser below, courtesy of HBO Max on YouTube.

The teaser also goes meta by responding to the online complaints over Velma’s change in ethnicity for Velma. It begins with Velma texting out her own complaint about a change to the Judy Jetson character in a reboot of The Jetsons. The scene is a not-so-subtle way of addressing the Velma race-swapping backlash head-on.

“I just learned you intend to make a genre-bending, comedic origin story of Judy Jetson,” Velma says in her internet complaint. “When I heard this new version of Judy Jetson wouldn’t be boy crazy, the only word I had to describe my disgust is ‘Jinkies!’ If there is one thing the internet agrees on, it’s that you should never change anything, ever. I hope you die!”

Velma then adds, “Well, at least Judy’s still white.”

The teaser trailer then spoofs Scream by having an unkown caller giving Velma a ring. When asked if she “likes solving mysteries,” Velma notes that she’s “actually much more three-dimensional than that,” suggesting this version of the character will have more depth compared to some previous incarnations of Ms. Dinkley. When the caller reveals himself to be a serial killer calling from inside her home, Velma reiterates her point that the “classics” should never be changed.

“A serial killer calling from inside my house? Yes, that’s a classic! And that’s my point,” Velma says. “Why change anything when the classics all still work, right?”

Velma Has a Star-Studded Voice Cast

     HBO Max  

It was also announced at NYCC that some big name stars would be featured alongside Kaling for the Velma voice cast. Other mystery solver voices include Sam Richardson as Shaggy, Constance Wu as Daphne, and Glenn Howerton as Fred. Scooby-Doo will apparently not be a part of the series, though the dog’s voice actor Frank Welker has an undisclosed role. Other voice actors involved include “Weird Al” Yankovic, Jane Lynch, Wanda Sykes, Russell Peters, Melissa Fumero, Gary Cole, Ken Leung, and Ming-Na Wen, among others.

Velma will start streaming on HBO Max in 2023.