Fans of the Scooby-Doo franchise rated HBO’s spinoff of “Scooby-Doo,” “Velma,” with one out of ten stars on IMDb. Making it the worst rated television show on IMDb as soon as the first two episodes were released on Jan. 12.

Mindy Kaling, executive producer of the show and Velma’s voice actress, also received backlash.

However, I was filled with nostalgia while watching the season finale and enjoyed all the violence and gore.

Critics said the show was not funny and that the characters had a different persona.

“Velma” is IMDbs worst rated television show because most comments are based on the first few episodes of the series. Critics said Velma’s character is self-absorbed, arrogant and selfish. Critics fail to understand that Velma is both the protagonist and antagonist in the story.

After all, the series is an origin story of how the mystery gang was formed. Therefore, the main characters are evolving and becoming more like the characters we grew up watching. So, the Mystery Machine and the beloved Scooby are nonexistent.

“Velma” is a series drama that deals with the themes of love, family, friendship and mental health.

Velma has a huge crush on Fredy that is reciprocated. Norville, aka Shaggy, has a secret crush on Velma. And Daphne and Velma’s dynamic is romantic but complicated.

Velma has terrifying hallucinations as she tries to solve the mysteries of her missing mother and the multiple murders at her high school.

The cops suspect either Velma or Fredy of being the serial killer.  So, Fredy and Daphne decide to help Velma discover the truth as the series advances.

Each character goes through a journey of their own. Daphne is trying to discover who her biological parents are, Norville is learning how to stand up for himself and Fredy is discovers that beauty is only skin deep.

Viewers begin to see original traits of the Scooby- Doo gang start to develop on the eighth episode.

Kaling is one out of the four executive producers of Velma and the only one receiving personal backlashes, especially on YouTube.

Charlie Grandy, top-level executive producer received close to zero negative reviews on the internet even though the duo has worked together to create multiple projects in which people were criticizing: “Velma,” “The Mindy Project” and “The Sex Lives of College Girls.”

People believe that Kaling only writes and produces shows with brown nerdy female leads with a low self-esteem that have love interests with white males, such as Velma and Fredy’s love interest. But in reality Velma’s main love interest in the show is not Fredy.

Kaling is innovating the entertainment industry by bringing voices of Asian Americans, as well as Black and white Americans together in her projects. Creative writers and producers, like Kaling, should have the liberty to tell stories that are based on some aspect of their life experiences.

The show’s bad publicity caused a significant viewing spike on HBO. So, subscribers will be receiving season two of “Velma” on 2024, whether the critics want one or not.

I foresee the evolution of Norville being the most mind-blowing. I anticipate Norville smoking medical marijuana, acquiring the nickname Shaggy and getting an emotional support dog on season 2.

The animated mystery comedy horror series has interesting themes and story plots, but it failed to deliver good jokes. It might have been better off written as a mystery horror drama. I hope to see an improvement next season. 2.5 out of 5 stars.