Mindy Kaling to star in Velma , HBO Max's animated series about Scooby-Doo character
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Warner Bros. to Release Every 2021 Movie on HBO Max at Same Time
Whoa: Warner Bros. is going all-in on HBO Max.
Jinkies! Velma Dinkley, the Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. gang's resident smarty, is getting her own series.
HBO Max announced Wednesday that Mindy Kaling will executive produce and voice the lead in Velma, a comedic origin story about the "unsung and underappreciated brains" of the iconic mystery-solving squad.
Velma is described as "an original and humorous spin that unmasks the complex and colorful past of one of America's most beloved mystery solvers."
kevin Mazur/Getty Images; courtesy everette collection
Kaling is joining a long list of actresses who have played the brainiac. Recently, Gina Rodriguez voiced Velma in the 2020 movie Scoob!, and Kate Micucci has lent her voice to the character in various projects. Hayley Kiyoko and Linda Cardellini have portrayed Velma in live-action films.
The streamer has given a series order to Velma and two other adult animated series: a "modern refresh" of the 2002-2003 series Clone High, and the Pete Davidson-led Fired on Mars.
Creators Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Bill Lawrence will be returning as executive producers on Clone High, which has been given a two-season order. The original show aired on MTV and was set at a high school for clones of historical figures like Abraham Lincoln, Cleopatra, Gandhi, and Joan of Arc.
Lord and Miller, who are best known for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, will also be writers on the show. Erica Rivinoja, who wrote on the original series, will serve as showrunner. Clone High is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios. Last July, it was reported that MTV was working on bringing the series back.
From creators Nate Sherman and Nick Vokey, Fired on Mars is an existential workplace comedy set five minutes in the future and taking place on the Martian campus of a modern tech company. Davidson voices a character and executive produces.
These new shows are among other upcoming HBO Max adult animated series, such as The Boondocks and season 3 of Harley Quinn.
HBO Max has also renewed the animated original Close Enough for seasons 2 and 3. Created by Regular Show's J.G. Quintel, Close Enough is about a married couple, their five-year-old daughter, and their divorced best friends all living together on the east-side of Los Angeles. Season 2 premieres Feb. 25 and will feature guest stars including Rachel Bloom, Heidi Gardner, David Koechner, and Kate Berlant.
A few animated originals are also in development at HBO Max: Obi, produced by Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society; Hello Paul, from musician Sean Solomon; Uncanny Valley, executive produced by Ed Helms; and Cover, Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack's adaptation of their DC comic book.
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