I'll preface this review by saying I have no problems with adult humor, or with a family friendly franchise being reimagined to include such. Nor am I outraged by the diverse casting. I approached Velma with an open mind, and it's just not good.
Like another HBO Max show, Harley Quinn, Velma is full of edgy and fourth wall breaking humor. Unlike that show, Velma seemingly holds nothing but contempt for its source material. Not one character behaves anything like you'd expect, and none of them are enjoyable to watch. Daphne is vapid and mean, Fred is a rich douchebag, and Shaggy is a bore. Velma herself comes across as Mindy Kaling's self-insert Scooby Doo fanfic character. She is the coolest, smartest, and funniest person in the room at any given time and multiple characters want to have sex with her. Everyone else is a loser. It's more sad than it is funny.
Like another HBO Max show, Harley Quinn, Velma is full of edgy and fourth wall breaking humor. Unlike that show, Velma seemingly holds nothing but contempt for its source material. Not one character behaves anything like you'd expect, and none of them are enjoyable to watch. Daphne is vapid and mean, Fred is a rich douchebag, and Shaggy is a bore. Velma herself comes across as Mindy Kaling's self-insert Scooby Doo fanfic character. She is the coolest, smartest, and funniest person in the room at any given time and multiple characters want to have sex with her. Everyone else is a loser. It's more sad than it is funny.