- Warning: There are spoilers ahead for season one of HBO Max's animated series "Velma."
- Stars Sam Richardson and Glenn Howerton spoke to Insider about the show's romances.
"Velma" stars Sam Richardson and Glenn Howerton said that the show's complex love quadrangle involving the four main characters is reminiscent of the drama that's inherently associated with the high-school experience.
"It reminded me of high school," Richardson, who voices Norville, told Insider in a recent joint interview with Howerton (Fred) ahead of the release of the animated series.
"They're satirizing so many different things within one show while also doing 'Scooby-Doo,'" Howerton said. "But one of those things is definitely the whole teen drama thing. That's a big part of the show."
"Velma," which premiered on HBO Max on January 12, follows the origin story of "Scooby-Doo" character Velma Dinkley (voiced by Mindy Kaling) prior to the formation of a mystery-solving crew comprised of herself, Fred (Howerton), Daphne (Constance Wu), and Norville (Richardson).
In the streaming service's reimagining, Velma is South Asian and openly queer, the dog named Scooby-Doo is nowhere to be seen, and Shaggy goes by his real name, Norville. In addition to satirizing the horror genre, the series is also filled with winks to "Scooby-Doo" and stuffed with pop-culture references.
Velma's sexuality is explored as season one progresses, showing her initial crush on the shallow Fred to her blossoming romance with her former best friend-turned-rival Daphne. Meanwhile, Norville's feelings for Velma go completely unnoticed by her and she repeatedly friend-zones him.
Richardson said he thought it was "very funny" that Norville is more of a nerd and less like the stoner version of the character that's permeated pop culture. During episode two, Norville even rejects stoner culture.
"I think it was a great thing to play with, the fact that he is confident in his nerd-dom," the "Ted Lasso" star said. "He is not shy about being nerdy. And he's also got a confidence, which is different than the Shaggy that we know."
"There's a lot of expectations on him in life and a lot of pressures, and also his hatred of drugs that is very clearly stated is so not what we know of Shaggy," he continued. "So I thought it was a very fun and funny way to see where he starts and knowing what he will devolve into, or some might say evolve, who knows?"
Fred also goes on an unexpected journey on "Velma," when the titular character gives him a copy of the book "The Feminine Mystique" to read.
In doing so, Fred finally understands to appreciate inner beauty and starts pining after Velma, who he's suddenly attracted to.
But his feelings are unrequited because, while she used to see Fred as irresistible, she now considers him gross and problematic.
"It's absolutely fantastic because first, he has to go through the virtue-signaling phase, where he gets it, but it's less about the fact that he's internalizing it and changing as a person and more about indicating to the world that he's changed," Howerton said.
"They're doing such a good job of satirizing the sort of white-male privilege thing in a way that doesn't take itself too seriously, but is really fun," he added.
The first four episodes of season one of "Velma" are streaming on HBO Max. The 10-episode season continues with two new episodes weekly, leading up to the finale on February 2.