HBO Max’s ‘Velma’ Continues To Flop, Worst Show Ever?
When Velma hit HBO Max, it had a lot going against it. First, it was a show based on the popular Scooby-Doo cartoon, but Scooby wasn’t anywhere to be seen. There was more to the complaints than that, and the show has become one of the worst-rated shows when it comes to IMDb fan reviews.
Here is what went wrong with Velma on HBO Max.
Why do fans hate Velma on HBO Max?
Velma on HBO Max tells the origin story of Velma Dinkley from the Scooby-Doo series. However, unlike the show she became famous on, this is an adult animated series for mature audiences only. While Scooby himself is not in the series, Fred, Daphne, and a version of Shaggy is also in the series.
That is part of the problem with fans. Shaggy uses his real name of Norville. He was also changed completely from the character fans have grown to love. Changing him from a white stoner into a Black uptight, straight-laced nerd in the series. However, even worse, he is obsessively in love with Velma and is almost stalkerish.
Add in the fact that Daphne has a dark secret and is a drug dealer and Fred is an arrogant and egotistical person who only cares about himself. In the end, these are not the Scooby-Doo characters fans grew to love.
One reviewer on IMDb wrote, “They took away Shaggy’s charm as a lovable pothead, Velma is an egotistical main character, Fred is a “social media hypnotized” character, and Daphne is your typical Mean Girls antagonist.”
This was also not unusual, with Velma on HBO Max sitting at a rock-bottom 1.3 out of 10 rating on the site, which the audience votes for the score. This isn’t a critics’ score; it is what the fans think about the new adult animated series. The characters aren’t the only problems either.
Velma on HBO Max couldn’t use Scooby-Doo because Warner Bros. wouldn’t allow them to. However, many fans went into the series against it without seeing it because of Velma voice actor Mindy Kaling, a very polarizing figure. Recently, Velma finally came out of the closet as gay, but the new series ignores this. Many fans point to Kaling to blame for ignoring this. Add in the often cruel humor of the series, and fans didn’t like what they saw.
Was Velma successful anyway?
While fans seemed to hate Velma on HBO Max, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a success. For one thing, critics appreciated the show more than fans. On Rotten Tomatoes, critics gave it a 50% score, making it just rotten by a percentage point. However, the audience score was a terrible 6%.
With that said, Velma was a huge success for HBO Max. The show ended up setting a viewership record for the streaming service. Mindy Kaling promoted its success on Twitter. However, one thing to keep in mind is that the record was for the premiere episode. Whether the show can maintain its audience is another story. Based on the reviews, that isn’t likely.
https://twitter.com/mindykaling/status/1614078609362415616?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
Of course, this led to fans blasting Kaling on that Twitter post. One wrote, “Stop ruining classics. And you had no issue with the locker scene? Nobody asked for unwanted edginess.” A second sarcastically wrote, “I loved the anti-trans “jokes” and the dismissals of women being raped in Hollywood! So funny and cool!”
None of this matters since HBO Max is reportedly creating a second season of Velma.
Did you watch Velma on HBO Max? What were your thoughts on the series? Let us know in the comments below.
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