Scooby-Doo is getting a live-action series on Netflix and we’re equal parts terrified and excited. Plot details are being kept under wraps but we know that it’s based on the Hanna Barbera cartoon and that it’s nearing a deal with Netflix according to Variety. We also know that it’s being written by Josh Appelbaum (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and Scott Rosenberg (Jumanji: The Next Level). But the most interesting/worrying aspect is that it will be produced by Berlanti Productions aka Greg Berlanti aka the guy who executive produced Riverdale, You, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and a whole list of other properties where he was either a screenwriter or director. Those productions have left an undeniable mark on us as viewers, and if we’re going to get a live-action Scooby-Doo series on Netflix, we’ve got thoughts on 5 things we want to see.
1. To completely erase the Velma series from our minds
The Max series Velma is an affront to everything that we know about Scooby-Doo not because it’s a vulgar cartoon. I watch Rick and Morty and think that it’s okay to push boundaries. The problem with the Velma series is that it forgot that it still needed to have the heart of Scooby-Doo to succeed. Velma felt like a cash grab tailored to shock audiences instead of pulling them in. And my biggest hope with the new Netflix series is that they make me forget about the Max series. Definitely bring on the diversity and queer representation, because I did like that part of Velma. But I want the new Netflix series to remember where it came from and that the people who watched Scooby-Doo as kids are now adults. We’re not kids anymore but we still want a show that reminds us of why we started watching the Mystery Machine gang in the first place while giving it a fresh spin.
2. Daphne kicking butt
Watching Sarah Michelle Gellar‘s Daphne kick butt in the live-action Scooby-Doo movies has been permanently seared into my brain. And it followed a long line of sapphic awakenings to strong women. Daphne didn’t wait for Fred to rescue her. She rescued herself and let everyone around her know that she wasn’t a damsel in distress. She was the hero. She was also the girl who liked pretty and cute outfits. So I would really like the Netflix series to keep this aspect of Daphne because it paints a different picture of what a woman can be. In today’s Hollywood, we need more of that now than ever. And while we’re at it, make Velma a baddie who kicks butt too.
3. A little more depth for Fred
I would like to see a little bit more love for Fred in the live-action Scooby-Doo series. Maybe not the same kind of love that they gave Archie in the Riverdale series though. I don’t want him to be fighting bears and be a completely different person. I want him to be the leader and solver of crimes with his friends that we’ve known him to be. But I would like to see who he is outside of solving mysteries. What hobbies does he have? What other friends does he have? Because I feel like they’ve always pigeonholed Fred as either the leader or the guy obsessed with Daphne, and it’s kind of old. It’s like I said when I was talking about the Velma series, we’re not kids anymore. And while we want the series to remember where it came from, we want a fresh spin, even for Fred.
4. Shaggy not being the only comedic relief
Throughout the multiple iterations of Scooby-Doo, we’ve seen different versions of Shaggy. But if there’s one thing he’s always been, it’s been the comedic relief. For the Netflix series, I’d like the show to expand on who can be funny. He’s not the only one that could pull off a joke. And if anything, comedy always hides something deeper and darker. I don’t want it to be Jughead Riverdale style of change when it comes to Shaggy. I just want other members of the Mystery Machine Gang to carry some of the weight when it comes to comedy and for Shaggy to get a little mystery of his own. I might even want to see Shaggy go out there and kick butt with Daphne. But please God, don’t start having them romance each other and switch partners like crazy.
5. Avoid being anything like Riverdale
Riverdale is to this day one of the most unique and out-of-pocket shows that have ever graced our television screens. But it’s also a kind of magic that could never be recreated. And seeing Greg Berlanti’s name attached to the live-action Scooby-Doo series, it worries me a little bit. I don’t want to see the Scooby gang switching partners like musical chairs. Neither do I want them getting superpowers, encountering angels, entering alternate realities, or any of the other insane plot lines that Riverdale followed for years. Scooby-Doo does have the ability to enter some spooky territory because it’s about mysteries. But I don’t want Fred to go to war or to see Daphne in a twisted relationship with her teacher.
