The creators of HBO Max’s Velma have opened up about the titular character’s sexuality in a new interview.
Spoilers ahead for the first two episodes of Velma.
On 12 January, Scooby-Doo fans were finally treated to the first two episodes of the new adult-animated comedy.
The show, which was created by Mindy Kailing and Charlie Grandy, follows the early years of Velma Dinkley (Kaling) and the Mystery Inc gang as they navigate high school and the series of mysterious murders rocking the halls of Crystal Cove High.
Alongside the aforementioned murders, Velma also deals with her mother’s disappearance and the terrifying anxiety hallucinations blocking her from doing what she does best, solving mysteries.
In addition to Kailing, the series stars Constance Wu as Daphne Blake, Glenn Howerton as Fred Jones, and Sam Richardson as Norville Rogers, aka Shaggy.
While the series has received mixed reviews from critics, some LGBTQ+ viewers have praised the 30-minute comedy for establishing Velma as queer.
In an interview with Variety, the show’s creators gave further insight into the character’s sexuality and why they decided to incorporate it into the series.
“The character is so iconic, and there’s been so much speculation about her sexuality,” said Kailing.
“I work on a couple of other shows about young women, and it just felt like this gift to explore that, knowing that there’s all these expectations for the character. It was one of the reasons why it really felt worthy to do an origin story of her.”
Grandy echoed similar sentiments before revealing that the pair received no “resistance” for making Velma queer.
“We came in and said, ‘This is what we want to do, and this is how we want to do it,'” he added.
The two creatives also addressed the “will they won’t they” relationship between Velma and Daphne and how their episode two kiss will affect their dynamic moving forward.
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“That kiss was going to be something big, so how can it also serve this larger story? You don’t want Jim and Pam getting together in the second episode,” Grandy said.
Fortunately, the character’s relationship woes won’t be caused by homophobia-based storylines.
“We’ve seen a lot of really successful shows where homophobia, or fear of that, has been the reason two characters can’t be together, but I feel like they have a lot of other differences,” Kailing added.
“Daphne’s popular. There’s socioeconomic differences between the two of them. There’s a lot of other reasons why it would be challenging for the two of them to be together.”
The release of HBO Max’s Velma comes a few months after the character was confirmed to be a lesbian in the new movie Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo.
In the animated feature, the beloved character gets flustered when interacting with costume designer Coco Diablo.
Mystery Incorporated creator Tony Cervone also confirmed in 2020 that Velma was gay in his hit TV series Mystery Incorporated.
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