HBO Max's Mindy Kaling-led adult animated series Velma re-imagines the iconic Scooby-Doo character as South Asian -- and Kaling has no time for those who may take issue with that.
During Warner Bros. Discovery's upfront event, Kaling revealed new stills from HBO Max's Velma, including one particularly graphic image highlighting the fact that this Scooby-Doo spinoff show is not for kids. "And while we're on the topic of fresh, female-forward shows, I am beyond excited to share with you these images from my new animated adult comedy Velma, which is based on the beloved character from Scooby-Doo," she said.
"Getting to voice this iconic character in her first ever origin story is a dream come true, and not just because it requires literally zero time and hair and makeup," Kaling continued. "And also you've hopefully noticed by now my Velma is South Asian. And if people freak out about that, I don't care. No one's imaginations ever had a problem with a talking dog solving mysteries. So a brown Velma is fine. I think we can all handle it. In any case, you won't want to miss this, coming to HBO Max."
This isn't the first time Kaling has addressed the backlash faced by Velma. "When it was announced that I was going to do the voice of Velma, people were very supportive and happy on Twitter. And so I felt great... and then it was announced about a month ago that the Velma character would be re-imagined as South Asian. And people were not happy," Kaling, who herself is of Indian descent, told Seth Meyers in July 2021.
"I just couldn't understand how people couldn't imagine a really smart, nerdy girl with terrible eyesight, and who loved to solve mysteries [could] be Indian. Like, there are Indian nerds. It shouldn't be a surprise to people," she continued. Nevertheless, Kaling explained that she and the crew behind Velma were taking care to do the character justice. "We really love her. And she's gonna have great adventures."
Notably, while Kaling's animated series will be the first time the character of Velma Dinkley has been specifically portrayed as South Asian/Indian, it will not be the first time she has been portrayed as Asian. Hayley Kiyoko, an actor of Japanese descent, played Velma in the 2009 live-action feature film Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins and its 2010 sequel, Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster.
HBO Max initially announced Velma in February 2021 "It is a tremendous privilege to build on the 100-year plus legacy of 'cartoons' at this company," HBO Max Executive Vice President of Comedy and Adult Animation Suzanna Makkos said at the time. "We can draw a straight line from our hundreds of childhood hours spent watching Bugs outwit Elmer to the current slate of adult animated projects we are building here at HBO Max and we think fans will agree. We are proud to introduce this distinctive group of series from a wide range of diverse creators that will form a first stop destination for animation lovers everywhere."
Source: Warner Bros. Discovery Upfronts