Animated series 'Velma' locks its star-studded cast of voice actors

Los Angeles, Oct 7 (IANS) After being officially announced as a lesbian in the new movie, the character of Velma from legendary 'Scooby-Doo' series is getting more love in the form of Mindy Kaling's upcoming adult animated series.During a Thursday panel (Pacific Standard Time) at New York Comic Con, Kaling revealed the star-studded cast of 'Velma', which features Sam Richardson as Shaggy, Constance Wu as Daphne and Glenn Howerton as Fred. Kaling will voice Velma, reports 'Variety'.The voice acting cast also features Jane Lynch, Wanda Sykes, 'Weird Al' Yankovic, Russell Peters, Melissa Fumero, Stephen Root, Gary Cole, Ming-Na Wen, Ken Leung, Cherry Jones, Frank Welker, Fortune Feimster, Yvonne Orji, Sarayu Blue, Nicole Byer, Shay Mitchell, Debby Ryan, Kulap Vilaysak and Karl-Anthony Towns.According to the logline, accessed by 'Variety', the series tells "the origin story of Velma Dinkley, the unsung and underappreciated brains of the Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. gang. This original and humorous spin unmasks the complex and colourful past of one of America's most beloved mystery solvers."The 10-episode first season of 'Velma' will debut in 2023 on HBO Max. Charlie Grandy serves as showrunner and executive produces alongside Kaling, Howard Klein and Sam Register.While Kaling's show is not associated with the recently released 'Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!' movie, she alluded at NYCC that her version of Velma might also have a "journey of self-discovery.""We want to honour other interpretations and what we think feels really modern," Kaling said, quoted by 'Variety'.The 'Velma' team also addressed why the 'Scooby-Doo' series does not, in fact, feature Scooby himself. In creating a Mystery Inc. show for adults, Grandy says they struggled to find a take on the beloved dog."It felt like what made it a kids' show was Scooby-Doo. That coincided with Warner Bros. Animation saying, 'Hey, you can't use the dog'," Grandy said. "So we were like, 'Great, this works out well.'"
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