Mindy Kaling is in great company for the upcoming HBO Max series, “Velma.”
On Thursday, Oct. 6, the official Instagram account for the show shared three new additions to the cast alongside animations of their characters. It was announced that Constance Wu will be voicing the role of Daphne Blake, while Glenn Howerton will voice Fred Jones and Sam Richardson will voice Norville “Shaggy” Rogers.
Kaling, who will be voicing the titular character in the animated series coming to the streaming platform in 2023, shared the casting news during a panel at New York Comic Con on Thursday, according to Variety. She appeared alongside Wu and "Velma" showrunner Charlie Grandy at the Javits Center in New York City.
Additional voice actors for the series include Jane Lynch, Wanda Sykes, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Fortune Feimster, Melissa Fumero, Nicole Byer, Shay Mitchell, Debby Ryan, Sarayu Blue, Russell Peters, Stephen Root, Gary Cole, Ming-Na Wen, Ken Leung, Cherry Jones, Frank Welker, Yvonne Orji, Kulap Vilaysak and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Howerton and Richardson both reacted to the news on their respective Instagram accounts. Richardson shared the teaser clip for the show, simply writing in the caption, "I’ll be playing Norville in the new @VelmaTheSeries!"
The "It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia" star also shared the clip on his Instagram, penning the announcement in the caption. He wrote, "I can finally talk about this! I’m really excited for you guys to see this insane HBO Velma Dinkley origin story. It’s almost surreal to me that I’m playing Fred in this. I grew up LOVING Scooby-Doo!!"
Howerton also posted the animated portrait of Fred on his Instagram, adding in the caption, "This honestly blows my mind. Hope you guys enjoy this as much as we’ve enjoyed making it."
During the Comic Con appearance, according to Insider, Kaling opened up about her personal connection to the character she is voicing. She explained that she has “always identified with Velma,” adding, “She was so cute, but not like traditionally hot — super smart, super thick glasses, questionable haircut. I just love the series and I feel so honored to do the voice.”
Kaling also addressed online criticism of her character being reimagined as South Asian, telling the moderator, “I think of the characters in this as so iconic, but in no way is the gang defined by their whiteness, except for Fred. 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. “
In February 2021, when news broke that she would be voicing Velma Dinkley in the “Scooby-Doo” prequel series, there was negative attention across social media. According to the Huffington Post, one critic in particular had a strong response to the news from Discussing Film, writing in a now-deleted tweet, “starring Mindy Kaling?” and a gif of Michael Scott from “The Office” yelling “No!”
Kaling had the perfect response to the hate tweet, cooly writing, “I wrote the episode of The Office this gif is from.”
An official teaser for the adult animated series was also released for “Velma” across the internet. The minute-and-a-half long clip poked fun at the criticism of Kaling’s casting and Velma being South Asian, with “The Mindy Project” star narrating a scathing message to HBO Max.
At one point during her monologue, Kaling says, “If there is one thing the internet agrees on, it’s that you should never change anything ever! I hope you die!” about what the character described as a “genre bending comedic origin story of Judy Jetson."
“VELMA is an adult animated comedy series telling the origin story of Velma Dinkley, the unsung and under appreciated brains of the Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. gang,” the description of the official teaser read on YouTube. “This original and humorous spin unmasks the complex and colorful past of one of America’s most beloved mystery solvers.”
The fictional character also made headlines earlier this week on Oct. 4 when it was confirmed in a clip from the upcoming new movie “Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!” that Velma is a lesbian.