Velma, an all-new adult animated series that tells the never-before-told origin story of Velma Dinkley (Mindy Kaling) and Mystery Inc., is now streaming exclusively on HBO Max and ahead of its two-episode premiere, we were able to catch up with two of the funniest men in Hollywood, Glenn Howerton (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia; A.P. Bio) and Sam Richardson (Veep; Detroiters), to talk about what's to come for our favorite detectives.
The series is a considerable departure from any prior Scooby-Doo media, highlighted by the fact that Scooby is not involved, so we were certainly curious to know more about where Howerton and Richardson found the unique voices for these iterations of the iconic characters.
Check out the full video interview below and please remember to SUBSCRIBE to my channel!
ROHAN: Glenn, your Fred is a lot less refined than the one we grew up with. Was there anything or anyone, in particular, you were trying to channel when getting into character? Cause, it was kind of hard not to see a young Dennis Reynolds sometimes.
GLENN: I mean, look, there's no denying that I seem to have this proclivity for playing like petulant, entitled, people, but, you know, so there's a little bit of that to it, but no, honestly, for me, there's a - I have this group of friends that are all really funny. They're actually all actor friends, and you know how you and your friends are always doing bits? Well, me and my friends are always doing bits, and one bit that was like a very frequent bit amongst this group of friends was the extremely petulant, entitled, kid who's like, ‘Mom! Would you just give me exactly what I want?!,’ Yeah, and so we would always do this, and we're always kind of messing around with his character. So, as soon as I read the script, and I read Fred, I was like, oh, he is that guy. That's the guy! Okay, so it was kind of a version of something, kind of a bit that me and my buddies have been doing for years.
ROHAN: Sam, with this new series Velma, The Afterparty, and Werewolves Within, you've really been on a murder mystery kick the past few two years - is this a genre that really piques your interest?
GLENN: You said to your agent nothing but murder mysteries, right?
SAM: Nothing but murder mystery, so I'm waiting on Glass Onion to call, or waiting on Knives Out to really give me a call, so I can get that trifecta. *laughs*
I truly do love a murder mystery. I like to solve things in my real life, so I love them. I love an escape room. I love a board game that has mystery involved. I like to watch a movie and try and figure it out before and ruin the movie for myself. If I figure it out early, then I'm like, I know, I know all the things. All the pieces are because of that, just because of that.
GLENN: Did you manifest this?
SAM: I think I did, I think I did. I must have, I must have, but, you know, who’s the ultimate detective next to Sherlock Holmes? Mystery Inc! So, I get to be part of that.
ROHAN: While the series lays out the breadcrumbs for the formation of Mystery Inc., have you heard anything about the eventual introduction of Scooby-Doo?
SAM: No, I mean, I have no idea. You know, I didn't write it, we didn't write it.
GLENN: I'm just taking it one script at a time.
ROHAN: Considering you two are stepping into these iconic roles, did you ever reach out to Frank Welker or Matthew Lillard for insight into the characters? Or, to inform your own take? Or did you just want to make it as much your own as possible?
SAM: Not too inform, but I'm a big fan of all iterations of Scooby-Doo and Mystery Inc, and all those things, so I've seen all the things and I’ve been a fan of it, but, you know, my Shaggy or Norville is going to be completely different than Casey Kasem’s or Matthew Lillard’s or Will Forte's, or whoever played him in - I think it was Casey Kasem in Pup Named Scooby-Doo also. So, it wasn't ever going to be the same. I wasn't taking cues from previous, although I know them. I was really making Norville what it is in the script, and what is in the idea for this show, for Velma.
GLENN: Exactly, my approach was exactly what you just said, Sam. My knowledge of the show coming from having seen so many, all the episodes of certainly the original Scooby-Doo cartoon, but then, also knowing that this was its own thing, and probably not even canon, although I don't know that that's true. Don't quote me on that because I don't know. And, just knowing the team and talking to them, and them being open to us really making it our own and so I kind of just went with that.
VELMA is an adult animated comedy series telling the origin story of Velma Dinkley, the unsung and under-appreciated 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.
Velma streams January 12 only on HBO Max.