Critics had high hopes for the Scooby Doo reboot Velma, which stars Mindy Kaling as the titular character, however, the show has received scathing reviews and become the third worst-rating show in IMDB history.
With just four episodes of its season aired, Velma’s received a score of 1.3/10 on IMDB, and sits at just a 6% score on Film and TV rating platform Rotten Tomatoes.
The show explores the back story of Velma Dinkley, who is described as “the unsung and underappreciated brains of the Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. gang”. However, critics believe the show has missed the mark and delves too much into content that isn’t related to the original Scooby Doo story.
“I watched the entire first episode and did not laugh once,” one reviewer wrote. Another penned: They need to remove the comedy tag. Seriously, in no way shape or form could this be considered a comedy… This might be the most hate filled re-interpretation of a cartoon I’ve ever seen.”
A third wrote in their review: “How the hell did this get made? It’s abysmal on every level. It’s not even a train wreck. A train is on it’s way performing its duty before it crashes. This train never left the construction yard. Shame the idea did.”
Regardless of the terrible reviews, Mindy Kaling has raved about the series and, in particular, her character Velma.
“I think of the characters in this as so iconic, but in no way is the gang defined by their whiteness, except for Fred,” she told Insider.
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“So, I was a little bit surprised and I think most Indian-American girls when they see this skeptical, hardworking, kind of underappreciated character, can identify with her.”
“I think the vast majority of people are excited and ready for it and the show is for them,” she added.
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