Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews (2024)

Velma: Season 1 Reviews

Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews (1)

Joe Reid Primetimer

...it's frustrating to watch the show nervously wink at its audience, assuring them that what they're watching is smarter than the IP-mining trend that birthed it. It would be a better series if it could just calm down.

Full Review | Aug 6, 2023

Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews (2)

Erin Maxwell LA Weekly/Village Voice

It’s an empty shell of a farce that’s not clever or engrossing. Just gross. How Kaling thought she could get away with a remake minus the sleuthing, silliness, ghouls and “meddling kids” that made it a joy really is a mystery.

Full Review | Feb 22, 2023

Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews (3)

Bob Chipman Moviebob Central

Scooby Don't.

Full Review | Feb 15, 2023

Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews (4)

Kevin Carr Fat Guys at the Movies

Leans annoyingly into the awkward racial and sexual humor while simultaneously re-treading ancient, overdone, and obvious Scooby-Doo jokes.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Jan 28, 2023

There’s a few great moments when they poke fun at the tropes in the original cartoon, but they’re too few and far between. The meta humor and more mature storylines don’t always land. [It] has a lot of potential but it doesn’t hit like it should.

Full Review | Jan 27, 2023

Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews (6)

Heather Hogan Autostraddle

Every episode is a cringy, eye-rolling slog that doesn’t seem to have any idea who its audience is, yet seems to despise them all the same.

Full Review | Jan 26, 2023

Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews (7)

Shirley Li The Atlantic

Its edginess comes at the expense of its own characters and punishes the audience for being invested. Like a certain Mystery Inc. member rummaging around in the dark for her glasses, the series is unfocused, confused, and desperately lost.

Full Review | Jan 23, 2023

Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews (8)

Jen Maravegias Pajiba

Velma is unpleasant. It replaced all of the wacky yet loveable hijinks of the original IP with a complicated mess whose only nod to fans is a pile of dusty easter eggs hidden in Velma’s closet.

Full Review | Jan 23, 2023

Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews (9)

Korey Coleman Double Toasted

Velma is constantly pointing out how clever it is to be self-referential. At some point, the show isn't trying to be a comedy anymore - it's being analytical.

Full Review | Jan 22, 2023

Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews (10)

Patrick McDonald HollywoodChicago.com

I don't understand the backlash, this is both hilarious and in the same cadence as NEVER HAVE I EVER. To me, a Meta and Diverse SCOOBY-DOO comedic reboot makes more sense than an Archie comics RIVERDALE. It's called evolution, people. Zoinks and Jinkies!

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 21, 2023

Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews (11)

Craig Mathieson The Age (Australia)

The 25-minute episodes are a suitable delivery vehicle for the humour, but across a season it has a lot of work to do to function as a cohesive whole.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 20, 2023

Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews (12)

Randy Meeks Espinof

Velma is only keen on being provocative, and doesn't care if it loses bite, quality, and humor along the way. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 19, 2023

Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews (13)

Omar Holmon Black Nerd Problems

Honestly, the show could have been a lot better.

Full Review | Jan 19, 2023

Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews (14)

Nadira Goffe Slate

Velma’s attempts at modernizing the franchise are so inept, they’ve given rise to conspiracy theories that Kaling intentionally made Velma bad as fodder for an ongoing culture war in which people would beef about it incessantly online.

Full Review | Jan 18, 2023

Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews (15)

Joyce Slaton Common Sense Media

"Show, don't tell" is one the most universal and basic pieces of storytelling advice, so follow it.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 18, 2023

Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews (16)

Mey Rude Out Magazine

If Velma can iron out a few kinks, and workshop a few of its worse jokes, it’ll become a great lead in for Harley Quinn. Time will vindicate Velma.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Jan 17, 2023

Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews (17)

Marshall Estes The Spool

While its departure from its source material may be a turn-off for die-hard Scooby fans, it still has a lot of love for the franchise in all its iterations, especially for Mystery Inc’s beloved brain.

Full Review | Jan 15, 2023

Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews (18)

Darren Franich Entertainment Weekly

Velma mostly replaces the old silly sensibility with crass name-droppy pointlessness.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Jan 14, 2023

Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews (19)

Richard Roeper Chicago Sun-Times

Jokes become exhausting in the meta, not-for-kids Scooby Doo prequel.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Jan 14, 2023

Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews (20)

Coleman Spilde The Daily Beast

The hotly anticipated origin story of the brains behind Mystery Inc. is well worth the wait, with a compelling mystery and even funnier punchlines.

Full Review | Jan 14, 2023

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Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews (2024)

FAQs

Velma: Season 1 - TV Reviews? ›

The writing was absolutely effortless and unfunny. The idea of a show with Velma as the focal point is great, the idea of recreating scooby-doo to be for a more mature audience is great, and this is wasted potential. I just don't understand who could both write and then "ok" this and believe it was good content.

Is Velma season 2 better? ›

Velma Season 2 is an unfocused slog that fails to improve on Season 1. Flat jokes, bloated storytelling, and attempts at subverting expectations leave it feeling like an incoherent, unfunny mess while Velma and Daphne's now-canon relationship is relegated to an antagonistic afterthought.

What was Velma's Rotten Tomato score? ›

Velma on HBO Max is officially awful — Rotten Tomatoes audience score is 6% HBO Max's Velma has proven to be one of the most divisive shows on TV as of late, but one metric is definitely showing that many fans are giving it a big thumbs down.

Why is the new Velma show rated R? ›

Violence is a shade more intense than viewers might expect given the comic tone. We see dismembered body parts, dead bodies, dripping blood and brains, bones. Velma hallucinates a werewolf-like monster who appears and sometimes invades her body, bursting out of her belly and sending tentacles into her eyes.

Why do people watch Velma? ›

“Velma” also benefits from some clever writing, especially when it comes to the show's jokes. The series contains a large number of meta jokes, many of which criticize the audience for being adults who watch animated media.

Why is Velma black in the new series? ›

In the new TV-MA-rated series, Velma Dinkley is Indian. This decision to change the character's background (she's been a white character since 1969) was partially inspired by Peter Ramsey, Bob Persichetti, and Rodney Rothman's animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which features a Black Spider-Man.

Why is Scooby-Doo not in Velma? ›

Charles Grandy, Velma's showrunner, has explained that what made the original Scooby-Doo content for children was the presence of Scooby-Doo. Warner Bros. Animation also said that the show could not use the dog in this adult spinoff, which ultimately coincided with the creative team's desire to make a more mature take.

What movie has the highest Rotten Tomatoes score ever? ›

To date, Leave No Trace holds the site's record, with a rating of 100% and 252 positive reviews.

Will Velma have a season 3? ›

Thus, Velma Season 3 will also premiere on HBO Max. The official synopsis for Velma reads: “Jinkies! This raucous reimagining of the Scooby-Doo franchise unravels the mysterious origins of Mystery, Inc.

How long was Velma's mom missing? ›

She is the mother of Velma Dinkley and is voiced by Sarayu Blue. She went missing two years prior to the events of the series, and was eventually found in "A Velma in the Woods".

What ethnicity is Velma? ›

Titled Velma, the series will follow an adult-oriented and metafictional "love quadrangle" Mystery Inc. with Velma portrayed as being of Indian descent, although aware that she is normally white.

How old is Velma? ›

In Ruby and Spears' original series bible, Fred and Shaggy are each 17 years old, Daphne is 16, and Velma is 15.

Who voices Amber in Velma? ›

Velma (TV Series 2023– ) - Sara Ramirez as Amber - IMDb.

Is Velma getting a season 2? ›

“Velma” Season 2 has set its premiere date at Max. The 10-episode second season of the animated series centered on the titular “Scooby-Doo” character will debut on April 25.

What do people think of the Velma show? ›

Most people actively despised the first season of Velma, and largely for the wrong reasons. Some critics deemed it uneven, having too many flat, throwaway punchlines.

How old is Velma in Season 2? ›

In Ruby and Spears' original series bible, Fred and Shaggy are each 17 years old, Daphne is 16, and Velma is 15. For the purposes of this series, the kids were made roughly the same age: 16-17 in season 1, and 17-18 in season 2.

Does Scooby-Doo show up in Velma season 2? ›

As is the case with Season 1, Velma Season 2 is missing the presence of the fan-favorite talking dog, Scooby-Doo. The series features the rest of the classic Mystery, Inc. gang, including Mindy Kaling as Velma Dinkley, Constance Wu as Daphne Blake, Sam Richardson as Shaggy Rogers, and Glenn Howerton as Fred Jones.

Who is the villain of Velma season 2? ›

Velma season 2 makes Scrappy-Doo a major villain, exploring how his character became infamous. Scrappy's role evolved from a foil for Scooby to an annoying character, leading to his villainous turn. Various Scooby-Doo adaptations mock Scrappy's unpopularity, with Velma season 2 depicting him as a major antagonist.

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