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Jinkies! The ‘Velma’ Series Starring Mindy Kaling Finally Has a Release Date

Calling all Scooby-Doo fans: HBO’s Velma starring Mindy Kaling finally has an official release date and all we can say is zooooinks!

HBO Max has just announced that the animated series will premiere on the streaming service on (drum roll please) January 12, 2023. This latest news comes only a couple of months after the platform released the first-look teaser for the series all across social media.

Mindy Kaling wearing a black dress.
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images

The new spin-off series delves into the origin story of Velma, who is arguably the smartest member of the notorious Scooby Gang. Back in October, HBO Max released a teaser.

The short clip begins with Velma writing a strongly-worded letter to HBO Max, who have chosen to make a “comedic origin story” for Judy Jetson in a remake of The Jetsons. Then, Velma receives a mysterious phone call from an unknown person. In a very Scream-esque fashion, the caller says, “Hello, Velma. Do you like solving mysteries?”

Velma goes on to explain why remaking a classic is not always necessary and finally realizes that the serial killer is inside her house. The teaser ends with Velma coming face to face with the killer and blood splattering on the window.

Kaling reshared the teaser on her Instagram page and chose to poke fun at her character’s unknown fate. “Spoiler alert! I will survive this teaser for #VelmaTheSeries but not everyone will,” she wrote in the caption.

Mindy Kaling Colorful Ensemble CAT
Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty Images

Back in May, Kaling spoke about the animated series at a Warner Bros Discovery Upfront presentation held in New York City and publicly addressed those who might not like Velma being of South Asian descent.

“Hopefully you noticed my Velma is South Asian,” she told the crowd. “If people freak out about that, I don’t care.”

The spin-off series will feature a more diverse crew of mystery solvers, including Kaling as Velma, Sam Richardson voicing Shaggy, Constance Wu portraying Daphne and Glenn Howerton playing Fred.

We. Cannot. Wait.

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karelle mckay headshot e1678464959710

Assistant Editor, News And Entertainment

Karelle McKay is the Assistant Editor of News and Entertainment at PureWow. Before she started writing about all things pop culture, she was a literal couch potato who loved...