Despite facing massive backlash upon its release, Velma's R-rating received absolutely no pushback from HBO Max during its development.

Despite negative reception upon its release, Velma experienced no pushback from HBO Max executives on its R-rating. With numerous teenagers being killed around them, the mystery gang needs to get to the bottom of the disappearances, while also figuring out the secret of where Velma's mom disappeared to. Along the way, they also need to really get to know each other. Following the adventures of the Scooby-Doo team long before they find their talking dog companion, Velma explores a darker world of dangers and mysteries, exploring them with the grace of a typical animated adult comedy show.

While Velma's R-rating may be hurting it, the studio saw no problem signing on for an adult version of the classic Scooby-Doo and enthusiastically approved the project. In fact, in some ways, it actually served as a veritable boon for Velma during its early phases of production. In an interview with The Wrap, Velma's star Mindy Kaling explained that Velma found complete support from HBO Max, which saw the project through to completion even with its heavy subject matter, dark themes, and extremely adult language and visuals. Check out her quote below:

"No, it was just excitement. It’s so great because we love this character. She’s so iconic and obviously one of the few characters from the era that she was created that I could actually identify with. And it’s no surprise I love writing about young women. Charlie created the show. I just played the part. But this world of teenagers was such a fun world that I’ve loved to explore before and it was such a great way to work with actors who we normally couldn’t get to be on a live-action show – Ming-Na Wen and Russell Peters, and obviously Glenn and Sam and Constance and Yvonne Orji, all these people who were killers on their own show, were willing to come do voices on this. It’s such a dream experience."

Why Velma Has Faced Serious Backlash

HBO Max may have supported Velma unquestionably, but the streaming platform isn't the only opinion that counts. While Velma's premiere made it HBO Max's most-watched animated original show, Velma has faced a flood of complaints about its treatment of characters, its R-rating, and its sense of humor. With a 6 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 42 percent critical Tomatometer, Velma has been the victim of review bombing and serious backlash against its depiction of beloved cartoon characters in a more adult setting, and it has created some serious controversy surrounding the show.

Velma generally introduces a question of whom the show is targeted for, as it fails to introduce the central heart of Scooby-Doo - the talking dog with a love for snacks and an intense fear of the supernatural. Its depictions of characters, even including Fred who doesn't seem to know how to tie his own shoelaces, are also sparking uproar. Of course, it should be noted much of the backlash in Velma has been sexism and racism disguised as righteous fury, as the show depicts a more diverse cast of characters, featuring a strong female protagonist and Black, Asian, and South Asian stars.

Why R-Rated Children's Adaptations Are On The Rise

Velma isn't the only R-rated media adapted from children's cartoons. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey is set for a February 15 release and centers around a horror story with Winnie the Pooh as the killer. The classic cartoon children's bear is becoming a violent monster intent on wiping out a group of typical slasher heroes along the way. With more content made for children reaching the public domain, it is becoming more popular for R-rated content to borrow a known and established IP rather than relying on creating new content of their own. While Scooby-Doo hasn't entered the public domain yet, it benefits from the same thought process, as a generic adult cartoon wouldn't have gotten nearly the same public reaction and notoriety as Velma did, and it's why season 2 is already reportedly confirmed.

More: Velma Provides A Dark Answer To A Classic Daphne Mystery

Source: The Wrap, Rotten Tomatoes