Why is Scooby-Doo not in Velma? His absence explained

20 January 2023, 16:02

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By Sam Prance

Scooby-Doo fans are criticisng Velma for not including everyone's favourite cartoon dog in the show.

HBO Max's Scooby-Doo-inspired series Velma is facing backlash for not including the character of Scooby-Doo in the show.

Last week (Jan 12), Velma debuted on HBO Max to a mixed response. The show is written as an origin story of how Mystery Inc. formed. However, instead of being a children's show, Velma contains adult humour (Daphne is a drug dealer and Fred has a tiny penis). The series received some positive reviews from critics but Scooby fans have reacted negatively to it.

However, it's not the content that's truly upset Scooby fans. It's the fact that Scooby-Doo doesn't appear in the show at all.

READ MORE: Freddie Prinze Jr. says he was ‘so angry’ after being asked to take pay cut for Scooby Doo 2

Why is Scooby-Doo not in Velma? His absence explained
Why is Scooby-Doo not in Velma? His absence explained. Picture: HBO Max, Warner Bros. Pictures / Cinematic Collection / Alamy Stock Photo

Yes. Despite being a Scooby-Doo related show, Scooby-Doo is not part of Velma. Explaining why Scooby isn't in it, creator Charlie Grandy told Variety that it came down to the direction of the show. He said: "It felt like what made it a kids’ show was Scooby-Doo." Interestingly, the live-action Scooby-Doo films feature both adult humour and Scooby.

Charlie then continued to explain that there were licensing issues which meant that they couldn't put Scooby in the series even if they wanted to. He said: "[Us having doubts about putting Scooby in the show] coincided with Warner Bros. Animation saying, ‘Hey, you can’t use the dog'. So we were like, ‘Great, this works out well.'"

Nevertheless, fans aren't impressed with the lack of Scooby. One person tweeted: "velma is so bad HOW DO YOU MAKE SCOOBY DOO WITHOUT SCOOBY DOO." Another added: "Without Scooby, it’s just a random teen murder show."

As it stands, Mindy Kaling and the team behind Velma are yet to respond to the backlash to the series. We shall update you if they do.

What do you think of Velma?

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