Mindy Kaling Gives Sneak Peek Of 'Velma' At New York Comic Con

Mindy Kaling gave a sneak peek of the new adult animated show "Velma" at the first day of New York Comic Con on Thursday. In a panel, Kaling, 43, announced the rest of the show's cast and premiered the first episode of the HBO Max series. Kaling, who is executive producer and the voice of Velma, took to Instagram to express her excitement on the project.

Kaling posted a carousel of snaps from the Comic Con panel captioned, "Had the best time in @newyorkcomiccon, showing 2000+ fans the sneak peek of @velmatheseries! Loved seeing @charliegrandy @constancewu @glennhowerton @thesamricharson and getting to talk about how much we love this show.

The caption continued, "Also getting to announce the rest of this sick cast! Thanks @damianholbrook for moderating and always so happy to run into my former lil bro @utktheinc. I loved being with my people, cheerful geeks in enclosed spaces."

The "Never Have I Ever" creator's social media followers commented about their excitement over the show. One person said, "Knocking it outta the park Mindy!!!! Love it!!!! 😍💜😍💜," and another added, "VELMA OF OUR DREAMS." New York Comic Con hopped into the comments to say, "We loved having you ❤️❤️❤️."

The panel, moderated by TV Guide's Damian Holbrook, showed the first episode of the series at New York Comic Con. The episode establishes Velma as an origin story before the gang teamed up. Kaling was joined in person by showrunner Charlie Grandy and Constance Wu, the voice of Daphne. Glenn Howerton, the voice of Fred, and Sam Richardson, the voice of Norville/Shaggy, were not able to attend in person but participated via video.

"The Mindy Project" creator explained that she always loved the original "Scooby-Doo" series. "Growing up, I've always identified with Velma. She was so cute, but not like traditionally hot - super smart, super thick glasses, questionable haircut," she said, according to Insider. "I just love the series and I feel so honored to do the voice."

When Holbrook brought up the topic of possible negative reactions over Velma being South Asian, Kaling said she's "always constantly surprised by reactions to everything on social media." She continued explaining, "I think 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."

Kaling explained that while the show is an origin story about Velma, it's also about her "unresolved sexual tension with a lot of characters." When asked if there is a possibility of Velma and Daphne exploring a relationship, Kaling avoided giving a direct answer. "This journey of self-discovery for her is something that really drew us to this project and this character," she said. "So we want to honor other interpretations and what we think feels really modern."

When the topic of Scooby not being a part of this series, Grandy explained why they decided to leave him out. "When we were going into the show and thinking about adapting it, we wanted to be respectful," Grandy said. "We didn't want to just kind of take these beloved characters and put them in outrageous or gross situations and say, 'Isn't it crazy you did that to Velma?'"