HBOMax Shows Striking Evidence that Velma is a FLOP

A strategy employed by one of the world’s largest streaming platforms may just reveal that the most poorly received cartoon in history just isn’t doing so hot.

In my job at That Park Place, I get to cover lots of exciting topics. Business and financial analysis of entertainment companies, controversial cultural pushes hidden in children’s entertainment, breakdowns of SEC filings… I even somehow ended up in the driver’s seat in a roundtable Twitter interview with Lucasfilm executive Pablo Hidalgo. Sometimes you don’t get to pick what you’re known for, as is the case with today’s topic.

Somehow, I have become That Park Place’s go-to reporter when it comes to all things Velma.

It’s probably self-inflicted.

Depending on who you ask, the latest reboot of Scooby-Doo Where Are You? is either a resounding success or an absolute abomination. As has been stated on this site already, Velma is nearly universally despised by Rotten Tomatoes users and even critics, who sometimes pull their punches to stay in the good graces of entertainment companies. Everyone seems to be reacting negatively to this TV-MA reboot.

According to HBOMax though, the series is some kind of resounding success.

Let’s look at two claims about this show and then dig deeper to examine the evidence to see if that bears out.

First of all, the easily agreed upon: “VELMA was the most #1 top trending animated series on HBOMax [on it’s premier day].”

VELMA was the most number #1 top trending animated series on HBO Max today. #VelmaTheSeries pic.twitter.com/wGmfvnqOVe

— ToonHive (@ToonHive) January 13, 2023

No disagreement here. Love it or hate it. Everybody was talking about Velma. Online rhetoric about Velma has been roaring at full steam ever since the trailer dropped. Although there haven’t been the usual public relations sound bites mocking critics of the show, the show itself takes aim at critics of “race-blind casting.” Early in episode one, there’s constant and cringeworthy meta-dialogue as Velma and Daphne fight each other in the girl’s locker room as Daphne’s teammates watch. Nobody reaches for a towel as show contemplates whether or not these two children’s cartoon characters might be into each other.

Of course, it’s easy to confuse “trending” with viewership, even though they are not the same thing. Either way, HBOMax released their own, completely unverifiable statement:

“‘VELMA’ Trends #1 on #HBOMax as it earns the biggest premiere day for an animated series on the streaming platform…EVER! #Velma #VelmaTheSeries”

The picture within the tweet was provided by HBOMax, which reads: “Biggest Premier Day for a Max Original Animated Series Ever”

'VELMA' Trends #1 on #HBOMax as it earns the biggest premiere day for an animated series on the streaming platform…EVER! #Velma #VelmaTheSeries pic.twitter.com/hMzDKBW2ug

— The Nerdy Basement (@nerdy_basement) January 14, 2023

Let’s break that down and talk about what that doesn’t include:

1. Live action shows
2. Animated shows that premiered elsewhere but are now on HBOMax.

Those two qualifiers narrow down the list quite a bit. While there might be a more extensive list somewhere else, Wikipedia only lists five original animated series on the platform. Close Enough, The Prince, and Santa Inc. are all cancelled. Santa Inc. isn’t even on HBOMax anymore. Ten Year Old Tom has been renewed, but other than Santa Inc. the other shows haven’t had much coverage at all. (One small note, this list also excludes Harley Quinn, which premiered on the now-defunct DC Universe platform).

So is it really that big of an achievement to be “the biggest” when you’re the only recognizable name on the list? To quote Frasier Crane when he was on a celebrity cruise: “Well, of course I’ve got top billing. I’m the only person on this list I’ve ever heard of.”

The final piece of evidence against Velma (and the inspiration for this article) is that HBOMax is shotguning episode of Velma onto the platform, two at a time. The show supposedly has ten episodes altogether and only premiered about two weeks ago, yet six episodes are on the service as we speak. The biggest and (arguably) most controversial moment of the series happens at the end of episode two, so it’s understandable that both episodes would drop at the same time.

However, if the show is so wildly successful, why wouldn’t HBOMax immediately shift from a two-a-week model to releasing only once per week to keep subscribers on the hook for as long as possible? HBOMax doesn’t have an ad-supported tier yet that monetizes minutes watched. Under a subscription model, the only way HBOMax makes money is if they keep you glued to your automatic renewal past the billing cycle.

If this keeps up, we can expect to see the finale of season 1 in two week’s time. I guess altogether that would be at least one subscription renewal, although 9 weeks of programming would obviously mean two. Who knows if there will be a season 2. Of course, if you want to see what all the fuss is about, you could read our other coverage here on That Park Place or on my YouTube channel.

For all the news that should be fun, stay tuned to That Park Place. As always, drop a comment down below and let me know your thoughts!