It’s official: The deeper mysteries of Crystal Cove will remain unsolved as Max has confirmed Velma will not be renewed for a third season. The news initially leaked through a now-deleted social media post by an artist who had worked on the show, with Max offering an official statement Wednesday:
“Over the past two seasons, Mindy [Kaling] and Charlie [Grandy] have created an incredibly fun and fresh world within the iconic whodunit franchise. While we won’t be moving forward with another season of the series, we thank them for their compelling coming-of-age storytelling, unrivaled clues, and hilarious hijinks.”
Grandy (The Office, The Mindy Project) is creator and executive producer on the series, with Kaling also executive producing as well as leading the voice cast as Velma. The show offered an edgy, adult and diverse slant on the Scooby-Doo franchise, reimagining the Mystery Inc. Gang and centering on bespectacled sleuth Velma as she juggles serial killer hunting and the equally terrifying day to day challenges of a small town high school.
Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, Velma premiered as a Max original in January 2023, sparking a firestorm of internet buzz as Scoob purists and critics reacted to the show’s raunchiness, gore and irreverence for the Hanna-Barbera classic’s modus operandi. In spite of vitriolic reviews (the title currently rates a 10% on Rotten Tomatoes’ audience-ranked Popcornmeter), Max debuted Season 2 in April of this year, and followed it up with Velma: This Halloween Needs to Be More Special — the apparent series finale (available to stream now).
In addition to Kaling, the voice cast features Glenn Howerton (Fred), Constance Wu (Daphne) and Sam Richardson (Norville, a.k.a. the future Shaggy), along with 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.
Grandy and Kaling executive produced alongside Howard Klein and Sam Register.
