HBO Max gets animated with Velma starring Mindy Kaling, 2 seasons of Clone High, more
TV Features HBO
During Wednesday morning’s TCA presentation, HBO Max flexed its commitment to adult animation with an announcement that included a litany of new original titles, some projects that are currently in development, and a renewal. Two of the biggest announcements are linked to cult favorites: The streamer has ordered two seasons of the short-lived MTV classic Clone High and one season of Velma, “the origin story of Velma Dinkley, the unsung and underappreciated brains of the Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. gang.”
Clone High, which only lasted for one season on MTV between 2002 and 2003, will reunite original creators Phil Lord, Bill Lawrence, and Christopher Miller, who are all serving as executive producers of the new project. South Park’s Erica Rivinoja, who wrote on the original series, is also returning as showrunner. Lord and Miller will write the series.
For Velma, Mindy Kaling will both executive produce and star in the adult comedy from Warner Bros. Animation. Charlie Grandy, Howard Klein and Sam Register will also executive produce. There’s no telling just how adult this story will get, but considering just how little Harley Quinn—another adult creation by Warner Bros. Animation—holds back, we can only hope that Velma gets to let go in similar fashion. Another series, Fired On Mars (from creators Nate Sherman and Nick Vokey), stars Pete Davidson and is described as “an existential workplace comedy set on the Martian campus of a modern tech company.”
In addition to the big reveals, HBO Max also announced a two-season renewal for JG Quintel’s Close Enough, which follows a family that is living with their divorced best friends in L.A. Starring Gabrielle Walsh, Jason Mantzoukas, and Orange Is The New Black’s Kimiko Glenn, season two will include guest stars Rachel Bloom, Heidi Gardner, Keith David, Cheri Oteri, Kevin Michael Richardson, Kate Micucci, David Koechner, Vanessa Marshall, Wendie Malick, Kate Berlant, and Michaela Watkins.
As far as the additional shows that are currently in development, check out the descriptions below, courtesy of HBO Max:
Hello Paul
From creator and musician Sean Solomon, Hello Paul is about a neurotic millennial cat whose intense job and freeloading mouse roommate stress him out.
Obi
Obi is about a 30-year-old man-child chasing his dream to become an artist while navigating adulthood with his friends. Produced by Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society, Michael Schreiber for Studio71, and David Devries, OBI is an adaptation of Obi Arisukwu’s popular Instagram comic strip. This project is co-created by Obi Arisukwu and Arthur Harris (The Last OG).
Uncanny Valley
Executive producer Ed Helms with creators/executive producers Brendan Walter and Greg Yagolnitzer tell the story of three awkward domestic helper robots who kill their human owners and try to assume their identities. Uncanny Valley is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, and Helms and Mike Falbo’s Pacific Electric Picture Company. Andrew Guest is also an executive producer/writer.
Cover
Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack are adapting their acclaimed DC comic book series Cover, an animated espionage thriller and conspiratorial love letter to the comic book industry that was nominated for multiple Eisner Awards. Bendis will write the series and Mack has signed on to direct. Cover is produced by Rooster Teeth Studios.
60 Comments
Cool. Velma is the best.
what happened to the whole voice actors cant race swap hysteria? Or does that not apply to an indian woman voicing a white woman?
It was a trade to allow Michael McDonald to keep voicing Gandhi.
Are you suggesting taking away a role from a POC in favour of a white person…? That’s what it sounds like.
If POC characters should be played by POC, why are we ok with POC playing white people? https://news.avclub.com/jenny-slate-exits-big-mouth-black-characters-should-b-1844154824Are they going to make this iteration of Velma an indian woman? Is Kumail Nanjiani going to play shaggy? This is a textbook double standard.
“If there’s a black history month, why don’t we have a white history month?”That’s what you sound like.
But I thought it was assumed that in America, the 30/31 day months are the white history months? That’s why POC get their own, shorter month. Why not just create a mystery hunter TV show about an indian woman instead putting Mindy in white face with this franchise?
It is far from the same thing. The problem with white people playing people of color is the lack of opportunity for people of color. The US had a century of default white protagonists, many of who could have been people of color, but the system was racist and prevented that.
so, why not just create a new show with an indian protagonist? It’s not representation if you’re just voicing a more palatable white woman from the olden times.
Yes, more on screen representation would be ideal, but behind the scenes representation is also important. Why are you so insistent on taking jobs away from minorities?
“For Velma, Mindy Kaling will both executive produce and star in the adult comedy” aaaaaand I’m out. Her act is so completely unfunny it’s painful.
You’re stupid, Mindy rules. This show sounds like a dumb idea, though.
I’m not Mindy’s biggest fan, but given the right role, she works. This does not seem like one of those things.
What is her best role, in your opinion; and how does it differ from her worst? spoiler: they’re all the same.
I like when she played the mirror lizard who inspires a young George Soros to engineer the global reset with the Rothchilds and the Bilderberg group and the only poeple who stand in his way are obese pill-popping hosts of independent online media, you wretched human soup can.
I’m so glad I don’t know what in the fuck you’re talking about.
I liked Kelly Kapoor
The Mindy Project was very funny.
I’m willing to give it a chance, mostly because of how good Harley Quinn turned out to be. Kaling isn’t really my cup of tea either, but I don’t have the kind of visceral reaction to her work that I do that of, say, Melissa McCarthy.
I don’t even consider McCarthy when I think of actors… or comedians. She’s essentially a less funny Chris Farley, 20+ years too late for her schtick. All that would at least be acceptable, if she weren’t a hypocrite – one moment decrying “fat” comedy cliches and fat shaming in public interviews, the next… debasing herself with typical fat gross out jokes. Just no. Mindy doesn’t do any of that shit, or hit those lowest common denominator comedy marks (as often), but I still find her grating at best, and at worst always playing the same characters (which are just *slight* variations of her own personality). Either way though, she is absolutely the wrong choice for Velma – I really hope she has nothing to do with the writing aspect.And yeah, Harley Quinn is surprisingly decent. Easily one of the best DC properties in the last uhhhh couple decades.
I mean, I would love it if I didn’t have to consider McCarthy when thinking about actors or comedians, but unfortunately I’ll have to as long as she continues getting work.
A lot of comedic actors do the “many roles similar to their personality” thing. I feel like this hatred here might have more to do with being a woman… I’m noticing a lot of people mentioning Melissa McCarthy too…. I liked Mindy a lot on The Office. People need to chill.
Yes, ya got me. I’ve been exposed. I hate horribly grating and annoying characters with literally zero redeeming qualities but only if they’re women.
she’s really good at assembling a super team of funny white guys to play off of, i’ll give her that.mindy project probably had the most diverse group of funny white guys ever on tv.
It also doesn’t help that anything Scooby-Doo related that doesn’t have the whole gang tends to be average at best.
Y’know, I’ve often found that I don’t like her performances in projects- but this isn’t her “act”, it’s going to be a voice role. I think we can afford her enough credit for her talent that, provided the writing is quality, her performance can be fine.
Somewhere in this thread I say something along these lines. As long as she has NOTHING to do with writing, it *might* be ok (at best).
so this is the beginning of all the animation that got frantically greenlit during covid. hope one of them is actually directed.
Sorry AT&T, but the options were either a) bring back the Venture Brothers or b) get the fuck out.
I just rewatched the whole series and that seventh season is so bittersweet. The episodes are as strong as ever and there’s even some degree of closure to be found, but it’s so clear that Publick and Hammer are gearing up to explore new territory (particularly with Doc and The Monarch). Would subscribe to HBO Max in a second if they put it back into production.
This makes me a teeny bit more hopeful though – if they’re bringing back Clone High, maybe VB will get a shot. Because I need more. I must know what happens to…The Bat!
Clone High, which only lasted for one season on MTV between 2002 and 2003And you know what hurts the most? This nail I just stepped on. But there’s a metaphorical nail in my other foot that hurts the second most, and it’s from MTV backstabbing me. So maybe instead of the nail metaphor I should have used a stabbing metaphor, but I guess it’s too late for that now, isn’t it?
I’m an AV Club commenter! I’m not accustomed to tragedy!
I’d go for a tiny mtv backstabbing your heel with a nail, but maybe it doesn’t sound dramatic enough.
I desperately hope this leads to a re-release of Clone High on DVD, or a remaster on BluRay. Because watching it on dailymotion or a trash t*rr*nt… it looks awful and I want to watch it in good format.
That’s never been a problem for me, as Clone High was popular enough on the Canadian channel it was broadcast on (Teletoon) to warrant a decent DVD set after it was cancelled.
I’m Canadian too. I remember that amazing TeleToon block in 2002. Undergrads and Clone High every damn night with my roommates, all summer. I missed out on the DVD sets when they were out. They are no longer in print and you’re looking at around $100 on ebay for it. =PHence the “re-release” statement. But yeah, it is always wild to me that Undergrads and Clone High were very popular in Canada. I mean, actually running the shows regularly will do that. IIRC neither show actually got their full episode order aired on MTV.
undergrads was canadian i believe. might have been a co-production with teletoon.
Iirc both shows were joint ventures between teletoon and MTV.
I got that DVD set buried away too, definitely going to dig it out. Canucks represent! Speaking of which, it has Teletoon slapped all over it which is Corus and this is HBOMax which ends up on Crave (most of it, the WB theatrical releases like Witches, WW84 and Little Things have been VOD rentals). Hopefully it gets added to Crave library before S2-3 hit. Seems likely! Also picking up from the S1 finale also seems likely since the finale literally ends with all the clones being frozen.
I have a 10-year-old folder of Clone High season 1 episodes from iTunes that look great. Maybe your problem is trying to watch TV on Dailymotion!
“Quit looking so smug, pretty pants!”“Says who, you?”“NO, SAYS ME, YOU!”
“the origin story of Velma Dinkley, the unsung and underappreciated brains of the Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. gang.”I feel like Velma’s been pretty sung/appreciated in every iteration of the show after the 60s, these folks need to keep with the times on their Scooby-Doo lore.
The two seasons of Mystery, Incorporated are far and away the best thing Scooby-Doo has EVER done. Recognizing it’s not even really a contest. STILL.
This.
I didn’t like how Mystery Inc. acknowledged the supernatural in places. I’ve always thought the best part of Scooby Doo was that it encouraged rationality and skepticism — that people who claim supernatural powers or the existence of ghosts are just trying to scam money from suckers.
It was an interesting line. The first season in particular, essentially, pointed out that the entire economy of their town depended on adults keeping the “big lie” going. I would suggest that even though the show went full-Lovecraft it didn’t entirely lose sight of that message. I can appreciate your take, though. Admittedly as much as I enjoyed the show, I did the find over-arching plot/mystery got to be a bit much with all of their dead parents showing up, etc. Didn’t kill it or anything and I still enjoyed it. The first season reveal that Fred’s dad was behind most of the shenanigans, and WASN’T his real dad though? Damnnnn.
It can go the other way, too. Zombie Island was fantastic and 13 Ghosts was unique, but the movie sequels to both tried to retcon them into being typical “they’re not really monsters” Scooby villains and they are lesser as a result.
Absolutely – I mean they got Linda Cardellini to play her
I am simultaneously excited for Clone High but also apprehensive that it was lightning in a bottle that cannot be recaptured 20 years later.
At least there’s been no shortage of YA material from the past 20 years for them to riff on.
I loved how Mandy Moore was basically mocking herself in that episode. I love it when celebrities are game for that.
I’m curious if Clone High will include Ghandi, because the original series was cancelled because of the discourse surrounding his character.
Dear God,Please give me the power to preemptively cancel that Velma shoAmen
But no Infinity Train, so my ability to get excited about any of these shows was nerfed.
Velma, “the origin story of Velma Dinkley, the unsung and underappreciated brains of the Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. gang.”Sigh. Here: the show done better and in less time.
Clone High, which only lasted for one season on MTV between 2002 and 2003, will reunite original creators Phil Lord, Bill Lawrence, and Christopher Miller, who are all serving as executive producers of the new project. South Park’s Erica Rivinoja, who wrote on the original series, is also returning as showrunner. Lord and Miller will write the series.They’ve been teasing it for years. HELL YEAH.
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