Max’s Scooby-Doo spinoff Velma seems to have been canceled after two seasons. The show, which started in January 2023, focuses on Velma Dinkley solving the mystery of her mother’s disappearance and a series of teen murders.
It also gives a backstory to the human members of Mystery Incorporated before they join forces. Mindy Kaling voices Velma, Glenn Howerton as Fred, Sam Richardson as Shaggy, and Constance Wu as Daphne.
Just after a Halloween special came out on October 3, Velma appears to have been canceled by Max. This news comes from a now-deleted Instagram post by background artist Davey Cummings.
Cummings shared a slideshow of backgrounds he painted for the Velma Halloween special, saying it was “so fun working with this crew” and that “there won’t be a season 3.” He added that he hopes to work with the talented team again someday. Cummings also encouraged viewers to watch the Halloween special on Max.
While not officially confirmed by the streaming service, Davey Cummings’ Instagram post hints that Velma won’t return for a third season on Max. Before the recent Halloween special, season 2 came out in April 2024.
Although there are no viewership numbers for season 2, the show has been very controversial among critics and audiences. If the show is truly canceled, it’s likely because season 2 didn’t get enough viewers for Max to renew it.
Velma was controversial because it’s the first show in the Scooby-Doo series that doesn’t include Scooby-Doo. The show has a darker, more mature tone, and several characters were changed, including their races.
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Velma is portrayed as a bisexual South Asian American, Shaggy as African-American, and Daphne as East Asian American. These changes, along with the show’s tone, led to mostly negative reactions from both critics and viewers. Velma is considered one of the worst shows of 2023 and has low ratings on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes.
Due to the controversy, Velma season 1 set a record on HBO Max for the biggest premiere of any original animated show. However, as the controversy settled down, season 2 likely had a big drop in viewers, leading the streaming service to cancel it.
While some of the backlash over the race-swapping was unfair, many critics raised valid concerns about the show’s humor, meta storytelling, characters, writing, and changes to the classic Scooby-Doo formula.
Source: Davey Cummings Instagram