Velma Returns For Season 2

 The first season of Velma is officially in the history books. With that, Velma returns for season 2. Over the last few months, the controversial HBO Max series has been the subject of harsh online discourse and conversation. Both critics and fans alike seem to unanimously agree that Velma offers very little in terms of entertainment.

At the forefront of the controversy is Mindy Kaling. She is the voice of Velma and, subsequently, executive producer of what HBO Max calls a hit series. Pitched to fans as an adult-themed origin story centered around the titled character, pushback against the announcement was swift and harsh. The controversial casting choices for fan-favorite characters, Daph, Velma, and Shaggy, questioned the studio’s true motives as a debate over a woke agenda became the centerpiece of online discourse. A self-insertion from the lead voice actress Mindy Kaling left a sour taste in the mouths of many disgruntled Scooby-Do enthusiasts.

A once beloved IP that formed part of many’s childhoods was reduced to nothing more than penis jokes and childish humor. A children’s IP turned into an adult-theme animation with silly humor. It would be ironic if it weren’t so depressing. Sitting at a lowly 7% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and a painful 42% from critics, even these abysmal numbers have not been enough to circumvent accusations of sexism and racism against those who dare to commit the unforgivable sin of not enjoying the show.

Velma Activism

News outlets and Twitter activists have been relentlessly defending the show, fiercely debating the social views of anyone who dares to offer an opinion outside the mainstream narrative. Although review bombing and those pushing back against any level of diversity in entertainment might exist, they make up a small portion of the more extensive fan base disgruntled over the complete overhaul of this iconic IP.

The majority of the pushback has been against the writers. The juvenile writing abilities of creators overhauling a classic cartoon have been at the forefront of online discourse. Retellings and re-imaginings have been happening since the beginning of television. If done correctly, it can rejuvenate an old classic and bring new life into it and, with it, a brand new audience to enjoy the show or movie. For every Velma, there is a Wednesday that works to respect the source material and honor what made the original so great.

Velma Returns For Season 2

Despite all the criticism and poor reviews from disgruntled fans, HBO Max has insisted that Velma is a smashing hit. The network has touted high viewership numbers as WB insists that the controversial series debuted as the best-ever animation on their streaming servers. Although that accomplishment rings as hollow as the jokes within Velma, it was enough to land showrunners a second season despite earlier reports suggesting that the show was canceled. Rumors or maybe wishful thinking started to make the rounds online that we would not get another season after internet detectives unraveled that Executive Producer Mindy Kaling has scrubbed the internet of past tweets referring to the show.

She previously touted online that Velma was Number one on HBO Max, A tweet that has since been deleted along with other references. In reality, it is far more likely that the owners of Warner Bros requested the removal of any controversial tweets that might reflect poorly on the network. With a show as divisive as Velma, it is understandable why they might not favor any contentious discourse that could lead to them bleeding subscribers.

Alternatively, Kaling could have also just scrubbed her feed of Velma references, as the blowback from the show might be too much for her to handle. No one wants to be reminded of their failures. Speculation Regarding the deleted tweets does not matter, as confirmation from Warner Bros ended all discourse about a potential cancellation.

A Velma Cancellation Still Possible

There is a couple of things that should be noted, though. Although WB has confirmed they are working on Season 2, an official announcement is still way off. Although unlikely, it would not be the first time that WB has decided to cancel a show that was in development. Development and production mean different things to a studio. Since the second season’s production is not underway, anything can still happen.

There are many reasons why a studio would agree to a second season that has nothing to do with the show’s quality. They are canceling any series. Within the first season, it never looks good. The studio has likely pushed a lot of money into production and thus would be eager to turn over a profit. Alternatively, maybe the show truly is as successful as HBO originally suggested. It is far more likely that hate watching and curiosity played a far more significant role in the viewership than many within the production of Velma would want to admit. Unfortunately, though, hate watchers can only bring you so far, and with the curiosity dried up, the core viewing audience for the show might have left as well.

Conclusion

With the final episode of the first season now concluded, many felt the story fell way short of garnering any hype for a new season. As the show progressed throughout the episodes on a weekly basis, the audience decided to move away slowly as well. Many were already not a fan of this re-imagining and felt even more disappointed with the season final. Although I know that most who have not watched the show by this point likely won’t bother to do so now, I will not reveal any spoilers. It is worth pointing out that the show takes a turn that further moves Velma away from the original Scooby-Do series.

Overall, it has been interesting to watch the online discourse take shape. Velma might have fallen short of what they set out to accomplish unless their goal was to ruin a classic IP, but the online conversation has been worth it. Watching some outlets bend backward to push some narrative down everyone’s throats if you did not like the show has been interesting. Although opinions might differ, at 7 percent, I would say the views are unanimous.

Now, we can only wait as Velma returns for season 2. Hopefully, they don’t further ruin any memory of Scooby-Do we might have left. That is probably just wishful thinking, though.