“Velma” Cast and Creator Claim HBO Max Series Inspired by Their Love for Both Animation and Previous “Scooby-doo” Cartoons

I have now realized that the best way to ruin a beloved IP is to bastardize it. insulting your potential audience is not a winning strategy for endearing one’s work to the public, the cast and creator of HBO Max’s Velma They tried to claim their mean-spirited take. Scooby-Doo Their love for animation and the original Mystery Gang was what inspired them to create the animated version.

Velma (Mindy Kaling) practices twerking in Velma Season 1 Episode 4 “Velma Makes a List” (2023), HBO Max

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During a TV Insider interview, the co-conspirators to the murder of Joe Ruby’s Hanna-Barbera creation Ken Spears gave their defenses.

Met at the interview’s onset by the most embarrassingly gushing praise from TV Insider’s Damian Holbrook over how “joke packed” He found every episode of Velma Mindy Kaling, series star, opined that it was. “I think that’s something that we really loved about animated shows.”

“Charlie and I are such huge fans,” The actress said so. “What’s so impressive about [series creator and regular Kaling collaborator Charlie Grandy] and his staff is that, to do a show that’s that funny but also has a real mystery – there’s a serial murderer in the show – is really impressive to pack into a half-hour show.”

Velma (Mindy Kaling) isn’t having any of what Norville (Sam Richardson) is serving in Velma Season 1 Episode 4 “Velma Makes a List” (2023), HBO Max

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From there, Holbrook raised the topic of the series race-swapping Velma from a white to Indian, to which Kaling – who herself regularly Promotion of the show by boasting about the orange-sweatered sleuth’s new heritage – dismissed, “It’s interesting. Her identity is a big part of what people have been talking about before they’ve seen the show, but it’s not a big part of her story-telling and her life.”

“This is a character, she’s so iconic, and the original series is so amazing, and we have a really diverse cast, but it’s not a show that’s sort of hinged on their identity,” She continued.

Velma Season 1 Episode 2, Mindy Kaling, tries to play off her feelings towards Daphne (Constance Wu), in Velma “The Candy (Wo)Man” (2023), HBO Max

Grandy also tried to claim this. “it was a dream” You can work on such a classic IP Scooby-Doo because “the fun of an origin story i sthat we all know where they end up, so it’s about, “Okay, where can we start them?””

“Then, in terms of just sort of terms of the mystery, I always wanted to do a season-long mystery, and so to kind of figure that out and work backwards and where you plant that information and how it can come out in a comedic series was difficult, but it’s really, really fun,” The series creator said so.

“That’s the fun, the tension of it,” He went on. “The characters all stem from this original idea of…they’re all so comfortable with each other. They’re in a van all the time they don’t really bicker, so it’s like, how do you get that comfortable with people? You have to go through just a lot of s–t to get to that point, so it’s fun to show what that is.”

Velma (Mindykaling, Daphne) have an accidental moment of intimacy in Velma Season 2 Episode 2. “The Candy (Wo)Man” (2023), HBO Max

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Next was the question about whether there is an overabundance of pop-culture references in the scripts. ‘jokes’ were the result of the writing team’s efforts or Kaling’s own comedy stylings, the actress admitted, “I did zero improvisation, the scripts are just so tightly scripted. It didn’t need it.”

“What I love about the character is that she has these razor-sharp feminist observations about being a young woman in that way where you’re like “I wish I could’ve been, or said that thing, or encapsulated the moment like she did or Daphne did or some of the other female characters,” Kaling stated, “But it’s all Charlie and the staff. ”

Velma (Mindykaling) fumes over her latest case against Norville (Sam Richardson), in Velma Season 1, Episode 3. “Velma Kai” (2023), HBO Max

Offering his own thoughts on stepping into the shoes of such an iconic character, Shaggy – sorry, Norville – voice actor Sam Richardson recalled to Holbrook, “I just love Scooby-Doo, and I loved all the characters so much. I grew up watching them.”

“I know fans love to have problems with things, so I was excited to get into that realm,” He joked about how he was playing. “a sober black Shaggy”.

Velma Season 1 Episode 1 – Norville (Sam Richardson), reveals his views on drugs to the world in Velma Season 1 episode 1 “Velma” (2023), HBO Max

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However, Glenn Howerton, Fred’s voice actor, would have you believe otherwise, despite his supposed love for the original team.

Speaking to his approach towards voicing the butt of the series’ tired ‘white people bad’ The line of humor It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia The co-creator stated that he wanted to create the website. “wanted to make him a little more immature, a little more petulant, you know, sound a little more like a high school kid.”

Velma (Mindykaling) confronts Fred, (Glenn Howerton), over his chauvinistic behavior. Velma Season 1 Episode 4. “Velma Makes a List” (2023), HBO Max

“The way I interpreted the character was completely driven by the scripts that I got handed,” Howerton. “‘What do they seem to be going for here? Let me lean into that.’ He’s clearly an entitled, petulant kid, who’s somewhat clueless – everyone described him almost like an ‘innocent bully’.”

“You know, he’s like a bully, but he’s completely unaware of how offensive the things are that he’s saying,” The actor was further described. “In his mind, he’s super nice, but he says and does awful things, so that was a funny thing to lean into.”

Fred (Glenn Howerton), is unable accept Velma (Mindykaling) and denies his romantic advances in Velma Season 1, Episode 4. “Velma Makes a List” (2023), HBO Max

Watch new episodes Velma Every Thursday, you can catch the show on HBO Max

Velma Season 1 Episode 2: Daphne (Constance Wu), Velma (Mindykaling), and Velma “The Candy (Wo)Man” (2023), HBO Max

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