Season 2 of Velma, the adult animated mystery television series created by Mindy Kaling will premiere on Max, April 25. Kaling also voices the titular character.
The first season of the show debuted on January 12, 2023, for a 10-episode run.
HBO previously renewed the show for a second season in June 2023.
On the second season, Suzanna Makkos, the executive vice president of original comedy and adult animation for Max and Adult Swim previously stated, "The series that we create at Max are art and voice driven, with character and comedy coming before anything else.”
“We’re always looking for hard comedy with heart and edge, diverse and inclusive shows with underlying thematic resonance, and character design that showcases the hand of the artist. I am so excited to share these incredible series with the world, and continue to show why Max is a great home for adult animation.”
The show debuted to poor ratings (a 39% approval rating among critics and a 7% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes) but inexplicably broke several streaming records for Max as it went on to become the most-viewed premiere of an original animated show for Max.
Touching on the negative reviews, showrunner Charles Grandy previously made comments that asserted his belief that the negativity of the show was centered around fans who believed they were attempting to erase the original Scooby-Doo cartoon or that there was an agenda behind the race-swapping of Velma.
Said Grandy, "The original Hanna-Barbera shows are still out there to watch. We are not erasing the originals. We just want to be a little ice planet on the outer regions of the Scooby-verse!...None of these characters are rooted to being white. We were worried about going to Warner Bros. and asking them to do it, but they said, 'Do it. It's time! Just make sure it's funny and good!'
That's no small feat considering Max is the home of other animated programs such as Young Justice, Harley Quinn, Scavengers Reign, and more.
Velma Official Synopsis: Velma is an adult-animated comedy series telling the origin story of Velma Dinkley, the unsung and underappreciated brains of the Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. gang. This original and humorous spin unmasks the complex and colorful past of one of America’s most beloved mystery solvers.
The main voice cast includes Kaling as Velma, Sam Richardson as Shaggy, Constance Wu as Daphne, and Glenn Howerton as Fred.
Kaling is the executive producer while Charlie Grandy serves as showrunner.