HBO’s ‘adult’ Velma series adds lesbian icons to cast as gory teaser drops
Velma has a whole host of amazing voice actors ready to go. (Getty/Warner Bros)
HBO’s nail-bitingly tense “adult” Velma series has added its star-packed voice cast and we are loving it.
The 2023 adult animated series, which outlines the origin of Mystery Inc. gang member Velma Dinkley, revealed its cast during a Thursday (6 October) announcement at New York Comic Con.
Glenn Howerton, Sam Richardson, and Constance Wu are just a few of the stars set to roll up in the Mystery Incorporated van, with Mindy Kaling already set to play Velma herself.
The cast also includes Jane Lynch, Wana Sykes, Russell Peters, Melissa Fumero, Stephen Root, Gary Cole, Ken Leung, Cherry Jones, Frank Welker, Weird Al Yankovic, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Howerton is set to play Fred in the series, while Shaggy will be played by Richardson, and Wu will play Daphne. Additionally, while it’s not explicitly known who will play Scooby-Doo, Welker has voiced the lovable dog mascot in a number of productions.
Welker has also played Fred in almost every single animated Scooby-Doo show since its creation in 1969.
Additionally, a bleak, comedic trailer was shown during the event, which sees Velma writing an insulting message to HBO Max producers that appears to poke fun at fans who take issue with changing characteristics of longstanding characters in media.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHdtsWn7sgE&t=1s&ab_channel=HBOMax
Kaling revealed that Velma would be South Asian in the show after showing off a still of the character in May, saying: “No one’s imaginations ever had a problem with a talking dog solving mysteries, so I think we can handle a brown Velma.”
The show will premiere in 2023 with a 10-episode first season.
Velma is undeniably queer and we’re here for it
The news comes off the back of the celebrations that Warner Bros finally confirmed that Velma Dinkley is, very clearly, very queer.
The character was revealed to be gay in a clip from the movie Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! where Velma gushes over the newly introduced character Coco Diablo.
“I never thought I’d live to see the day when Velma is very clearly having gay thoughts on-screen,” one user said, while others said that the character being queer “is so amazing she’s just so powerful that she willed it into existence.”
While some far-right pundits took it as a chance to complain about a cartoon character being in a relationship with another cartoon character, the rest of the internet shrugged off the naysayers with applause all around.
Even major multimedia company Google joined in on the fun, celebrating Velma coming out with an adorably gay easter egg.
If users are to type in “Velma” or “Velma Dinkley” into the Google search bar, a shower of rainbow confetti and Pride flags will rain down the screen, because our gay queen deserves a parade.
