VELMA: SEASON ONE
Starring: Mindy Kaling, Glenn Howerton, Sam Richardson, Constance Wu, Wanda Sykes, Jane Lynch, Russell Peters, and Melissa Fumero
Creator: Charlie Grandy
ADRIANO
Velma just made me say “why” the entire time. The creators stripped away everything that made Scooby-Doo the best and replaced it with a mean-spirited tone, bad animation, and non-joke jokes that even some decent voice work can’t save. There is a way to do IP with a fresh interpretation, but this show feels like the writers were just trying to be edgy instead of making people laugh or tell a story. It’s like watching the Mystery Machine crash in slow motion, and I couldn’t look away as I saw the charm of Scooby-Doo get demolished. Jinkies, indeed.
AMARÚ
Velma is… a lot, and not in a good way. It’s a train wreck you either can’t stop watching, or you jump off of before it picks up too much steam. There’s no in-between. The story feels like another show was slapped with the Scooby-Doo IP just to get more eyes on it. The R-rated content tries to create a pathway to honestly talk about adult themes, but it ultimately comes off as preachy, cringy, or corny. The fairly stacked voice cast is wasted on dialogue that wants to be edgy but falls way short of surface level. I’m really glad Scoob is nowhere near this property.
PAIGE
Jinkies, this show is cringy. Velma strips away the Mystery Inc. characters’ identities that we grew up with and makes you not like them at all. I feel like this season had no clear focus on what it wanted to do besides shit all over these characters. It’s tedious AF, and a big ol’ slap in the face to the Scooby-Doo IP. Honestly, what makes this show fall short is the annoying meta approach it takes with its humor. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all here for being meta, but it’s gotta stick the landing; Velma doesn’t in the slightest.
