HBO Max has recently released the new animated show “Velma,” created by Charlie Grandy and produced by Mindy Kaling.  

The verdict? It’s just flat out bad. With bad writing, bad intentions and bad humor there’s no point beating around the bush: it’s simply horrible.  

Everyone on the show is a terrible person, filled with snark and hatred. The characters are the “Scooby Doo” gang in name and looks alone, bearing no other resemblance of personality to the beloved characters. There isn’t even a Scooby Doo!  

Velma, the titular character, has been transformed from a lovable nerd into a hateful and cynical character. Shaggy’s name has been changed to Norville and instead of being a stoner goofball, he is now an anti-drug crusader with an unrequited love for Velma. Instead of being glamorous and intelligent, Daphne is mean spirited and catty. Fred, meanwhile, has been transformed from a competent leader into an infantilized imbecile.  

While Daphne, Norville and Fred eventually grow on you as characters and have character arcs that end with them as better people, Velma remains unlikeable throughout. It’s a shame and surely a disappointment to many as Velma is a well-beloved character from the franchise.  

The plot, which revolves around a group of unlikely friends learning to work together to solve a string of murders, is honestly interesting with intriguing clues and plot twists.  

Some of the humor is okay, but overall, the jokes are either very crude or very meta.  

There is a gratuitous number of sexual jokes and sexual depictions of the characters, which is made even more uncomfortable when you remember that the characters are all about 15 years old.  

There is also a fair amount of meta humor, making fun of the show itself and animation as a medium. These jokes get very stale very quickly and some of them mention tropes that are so niche that the reference is lost.  

And then there’s the borderline racist jokes. This show has decided that because the cast is racially diverse, they can mock and degrade Hispanic, Black and Asian communities. Jokes like this have no place in modern TV, and it’s honestly disgusting to watch.  

Overall, the humor, despite its occasional good moments, just left a bad taste in my mouth.  

While the animation style is well done and the overarching mystery is interesting, the unlikeable cast of characters and poorly done humor make the series obnoxious and grating. This is not a show to watch if you love the original “Scooby Doo” series, as this new spinoff drags its legacy through the mud and spits on its memory.