As a long-time fan of the Scooby-Doo franchise, it’s hard for me to wrap my head around an adult-themed, R-rated version of the characters because it feels so unnatural, but that’s what we’re getting with the HBO Max series Velma. The first full trailer has been released for the series, and while I’m open to the idea of a show like this, the kind of comedy that I’m seeing in the trailer falls flat for me. They were obviously inspired by what the Harley Quinn animated series is doing, but I’m not sure this is going to work as well. Maybe the series will be better than what I’m seeing in the trailer. The series gives us an origin story of Velma Dinkley, “the unsung and underappreciated brains of the Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. gang. This original and humorous spin unmasks the complex and colorful past of one of America’s most beloved mystery solvers.”The adult animated comedy series features Mindy Kaling (The Office, The Mindy Project) in the voice of the title character, as well as comedian Constance Wu as Daphne, Sam Richardson as Shaggy, and Glenn Howerton as Fred. Additional cast members include Jane Lynch, Wanda Sykes, Russell Peters, Melissa Fumero, Stephen Root, Gary Cole, Ken Leung, Cherry Jones, Frank Welker, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Fortune Feimster, Yvonne Orji, Sarayu Blue, Nicole Byer, Ming-Na Wen, Shay Mitchell, Debby Ryan, Kulap Vilaysak, and Karl-Anthony Towns.Velma debuts on HBO Max on Thursday, January 12, 2023. Check out the trailer and let us know if you like what you see! I don’t know, out of all the things that HBO Max is canceling and removing from the service, this is what made it past the cut.