'Jinkies!' Premiere of 'Velma' becomes HBO Max's most-watched animated original show despite backlash

'Velma', which is a spin-off of the beloved 'Scooby-doo', had received a lot of backlash and calls for cancellation

PUBLISHED JAN 17, 2023

The premiere of 'Velma' has become the most-watched animated original show on HBO MAX despite the largely negative fan reactions (HBO Max)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Ever since the announcement of the animated show 'Velma' on HBO Max, fans have been divided as to liking this new rendition of one of the most beloved characters from 'Scooby-doo'. Despite all the backlash, the show's premiere has become the most-watched animated original show, leaving many dumbfounded. 'Velma' is an original spin-off series that follows Velma as a teenager and is voiced by Mindy Kaling.

As opposed to the original cartoon, which catered to children, this series focuses on more mature content and deals with the premise of a high school, drugs and murder. On the other hand, HBO Max is not a stranger to producing and delivering an adult spin-off about a beloved character and 'Harley Quinn' is an example of this fact.

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Thank you everyone for watching! 🎉 @hbomax @velmatheseries pic.twitter.com/QoZ6AIiPtB
— Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) January 14, 2023

The controversy around 'Velma' is not a recent one. According to Screen Rant, though the series has some good attributes like a diverse voice cast and quirky animation, that's it when it comes to the positives. Most people disliked the way the show projects Velma as an unnecessarily rude character, with disruptively forced humour that is a hit-and-miss, and bad writing. And since the release of the teaser and trailer, fans have reportedly been complaining about the direction that the creators are taking in terms of the characters.

Mindy Kaling speaks onstage at HBO Max's VELMA panel during New York Comic Con 2022 on October 06, 2022 in New York City. — Mindy Kaling speaks onstage at HBO Max's 'VELMA' panel during New York Comic Con 2022 on October 6, 2022 in New York City (Getty Images)

Fans have been "brash" about the treatment of their favourite character and have been expressing it in every possible way. They called out the series as trash with many even wanting to cancel the show.

The show premiered on HBO Max on January 12, and it has equally disappointed both the fans and critics. Despite having received the worst ratings for the first two episodes, 'Velma' managed to gain a legion of viewers during its premiere, becoming the biggest premiere day for an HBO Max original animated series. This has shocked pretty much everyone.

'Velma' will have a total of 10 episodes, with new episodes dropping every week exclusively on HBO Max.