Genuinely Awful Scooby-Doo Spin-Off Drops Second Season: Did It Get Any Better?
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
The first season of Max’s adult cartoon “Velma” was truly an affront to anyone with fond memories of the cherished Hanna-Barbera creation “Scooby-Doo.”
“Velma” was a radical, modernist re-imagining of the classic cartoon that’s been around since 1969.
But instead of a charismatic and cowardly doggy leading an astoundingly competent group of sleuths solving mysteries around the world, “Velma” ditched Scooby, and transported the other core cast of characters to high school.
Most of the traditionally white characters got a race-swap in “Velma”:
- Velma Dinkley: Despite that last name, Velma, the main character of this revamp, is now Indian. She’s also now bisexual, despite historically having been portrayed as a straight woman.
- Daphne Blake: She is now Asian, and is one of the love interests of Velma.
- Norville Rogers: Perhaps best known to old-school Scooby-Doo fans as “Shaggy,” this character is now black and is the other love interest of Velma.
Fred Rogers, usually portrayed in the older cartoons as the “leader” of the gang (collectively known as “Mystery Inc.”) is the only character to remain white among the original crew.
But while Velma, Daphne, and Shaggy have all maintained some semblance of competence (even the klutzier Velma is still the main character of the series), Fred is cast as the buffoon and clown of the group now.
“Velma,” which came out in January 2023, was awful.
There’s really no other way to put it.
And you know how it’s really bad? Even more left-leaning outlets failed to offer much praise for the show, which is astounding given all the “representation” present in it.
Even IGN could only call the series just “okay,” and gave it a 6 out of 10 on its review scale.
Other reviews were even harsher, as “Velma” sits at a rancid 39 percent from critics and an absolutely brutal 7 percent from users on Rotten Tomatoes.
Given all that, most people were stunned when a second season of the show actually dropped April 25 on Max.
WARNING: The following clip contains imagery, violence and drug references that some viewers may find disturbing and/or offensive.
Most people were not stunned, however, to see that the raunchier, adult take on “Scooby-Doo” did not improve much in its second season.
While critic scores have not populated Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing, the audience score has.
And in minimal fairness, the score has risen as of now… but that’s still a very bad 10 percent in user scores.
A glance at IGN shows that the media conglomerate firmly thinks the second season of “Velma” is worse than the first, calling the sophomore season of the show as “bad” and giving it a 4 out of 10.
Social media response was rough, as well. Forbes writer Paul Tassi took to X to incredulously wonder aloud how Warner Bros. allowed a second season of the show to make it on-air, despite the company rapidly canceling any number of other projects.
“Velma” is fully available on Max, but if you have access to that streaming platform, you’ll be better off watching the original “Scooby-Doo Where Are You!” that’s also available on the platform.
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