Mindy Kaling’s Velma Series Gets January Premiere Date on HBO Max

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The Scooby-less series focused on Mindy Kaling’s Velma Dinkley has gotten its premiere date.

HBO Max

The reimagined Velma Dinkley will arrive next month. As has been previously reported, Mindy Kaling is introducing a new incarnation of the bespectacled mystery-solver in Velma, an adult animated series at HBO Max. On Tuesday, it was revealed (via TVLine) that Velma has been given a premiere date of Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. It’s not yet clear when and how subsequent episodes will be released following the premiere.

Velma is described by HBO Max as an “adult animated comedy series telling the origin story of Velma Dinkley, the unsung and under appreciated brains of the Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. gang. This original and humorous spin unmasks the complex and colorful past of one of America’s most beloved mystery solvers.”

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Kaling, who serves as an executive producer with creator Charlie Grandy, provides the voice of Velma, depicted as South Asian in the new show. The cast also includes Sam Richardson as Norville “Shaggy” Rogers, Constance Wu as Daphne Blake, and Glenn Howerton as Fred Jones. Other big names are featured as part of the voice cast including Russell Peters, Melissa Fumero, Jane Lynch, Wanda Sykes, Frank Welker, Gary Cole, Ming-Na Wen, Shay Mitchell, and “Weird Al” Yankovic.

Related: Velma and Other LGBTQ+ Cartoon Characters

Velma Won’t Include Scooby-Doo

HBO Max

One controversial element of Velma is that the series will not include a certain pup named Scooby-Doo. Previously, the show’s creative team discussed Scoob’s absence in the series while at New York Comic-Con. It was explained that the studio didn’t want them to include the dog because of the show’s mature content, serving as a separation between Velma and the classic, family-friendly shows of the franchise. They also stated that they didn’t want to include Scooby-Doo anyway, as they couldn’t even think of a good way to make it work.

“When we were thinking about what made it a kids’ show, and what makes an adult show, the dog, Scooby, is what really seemed to… we couldn’t get a take on it that was like, ‘How can we kind of do this in a fun modern way?'” a producer was quoted as saying. “It felt like what made [the original version] a kids’ show was Scooby-Doo. That coincided with Warner Bros. Animation saying, ‘Hey, you can’t use the dog.’ So we’re like, ‘Great! This works out well!'”

Velma will premiere on HBO Max on Jan. 12, 2023. A teaser trailer was previously released, providing a sneak peek at what the series will be like with a more adult spin on Scooby-Doo. You can watch that teaser below.

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