Despite receiving an overwhelming amount of negative reviews from critics and viewers, Mindy Kaling’s adult-animated series Velma still managed to become one of the week's most popular shows.
In Parrot Analytics's latest data series report from The Wrap, it has been revealed that the Scooby-Doo series has secured the second spot on this week's ranking for the most in-demand new shows, placing a bit higher than HBO's The Last of Us. Following its debut last Jan. 12, the series unexpectedly attracted a lot of attention in the U.S., as the demand for the show increased up to 127 percent. Velma's viewership performance this week is 37.3 times higher than an average series.
Shortly after its debut, Velma was met with criticisms regarding the show's meta-storytelling and its decision to veer away from the original source material. Some viewers felt it failed to capture the essence of what makes a Scooby-Doo series good. It has also officially shattered Dragonball Evolution's previous IMBb record by becoming the project with the worst audience score rating of 1.3 at the time of writing. Regardless of its low critic and audience scores, Velma's two-episode premiere had set a new viewership record for HBO Max, as it became the streamer's most-watched animated series debut to date.
The Future of Velma
Whether the fans hate Velma or not, the adult-animated series is clearly doing wonders for HBO Max. Although nothing has officially been announced yet regarding Velma's renewal, it has been previously revealed that Warner Bros. Discovery has already started developing the second season. However, it remains unclear if HBO Max would still push through the next installment of Velma, especially when the streamer has been canceling a number of its original shows, with Titans and Doom Patrol its latest casualties.
Taking place before the Scooby-Doo Gang was officially formed, Velma is a 10-episode horror comedy following Velma Dinkley as she embarks on ghostly and mystery adventures with some members of the team. The series features the voices of Kaling as the titular teen detective, Constance Wu as Daphne Blake, Glenn Howerton as Fred Jones, and Sam Richardson as Norbert "Shaggy" Rogers. They are joined by an all-star guest cast, including Wanda Sykes, Jane Lynch, Weird Al, Ming-Na Wen, Shay Mitchell, and Melissa Fumero.
The prequel is the latest animated series adaptation of the long-running Scooby-Doo series. The first one was 1969's Scooby-Doo, Where Are You, which was created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears. The show's success led to a multimedia franchise that spawned 14 shows and over 50 films, including two live-action Scooby-Doo movies.
The first six episodes of Velma are now available for streaming on HBO Max, with two new episodes releasing every Thursday until Feb. 9.
Source: The Wrap