Why Velma Is the Real Hero in Scooby-Doo! 🔍 #shorts

In the Scooby-Doo universe, Velma has typically been viewed as a “sidekick” character who, despite solving most of the mysteries her merry band of teens stumbles into. Velma, now on HBO Max, is an adult-oriented series that puts the titular heroine front and center, for better or worse. It also surrounds her with new spins on old characters that lack the creativity or the traits the originals possessed.

While it has its share of legitimately humorous moments, it completely and utterly fails at establishing a worthwhile adult adaptation of Scooby-Doo and instead twists familiar characters into caricatures of themselves, while Mindy Kaling (who voices Velma and executive produces the series) essentially cosplays as the bespectacled teen by bringing her acerbic brand of humor to the forefront. That is to say: Jinkies. It’s not very good.