HBO Max is going all-in on adult animation with three new series orders announced on Wednesday. According to a report by Deadline, the streamer has ordered two seasons of a Clone High reboot, along with a Scooby-Doo spin-off called Velma and a brand new show called Fired on Mars. These orders come with a lot of big-name talent, and they have all eyes focused on HBO Max.
HBO Max is already a big destination for animation aimed at adults, from WarnerMedia properties like Rick and Morty to streaming exclusives like Harley Quinn. Now, it is bolstering that line-up with three new shows, all of which are going straight to series. So far, fans seem most excited about Clone High — a reboot of an MTV classic that will reportedly be written and executive produced by Chris Miller and Phil Lord. The duo is well-known for projects including The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
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This project is likely near and dear to the duo, who started their careers as writers and directors on the original in 2002. They developed the idea as college students years before and realized it with the help of Bill Lawrence, who will join them on the reboot as well. Beyond that, few details are available on this project.
Meanwhile, HBO Max has ordered Velma, a Scooby-Doo spin-off from Mindy Kaling. Kaling will be the lead voice actor of the series as well as an executive producer. The show will reportedly explore the origin story of Velma Dinkley and will be made by Warner Bros. Animation.
Finally, the last project on the list is Fired on Mars, a twist on the workplace comedy format about a modern tech company with a campus on Mars. It was created by Adult Swim veterans Nate Sherman and Nick Vokey, and it has SNL star Davidson attached as an actor and executive producer.
All of these new projects point to a broader strategy at HBO Max of investing in animation — particularly animation aimed at adult audiences. This makes sense considering the popularity of Adult Swim content on the platform. It is also a safe bet right now, since writers, voice actors and animators can all work from home regardless of pandemic conditions.
HBO Max executive Suzanna Makkos issued a statement on this order, remarking on Warner’s long history with animation. She said: “It is a tremendous privilege to build on the 100-year-plus legacy of ‘cartoons’ at this company. We can draw a straight line from our hundreds of childhood hours spent watching Bugs outwit Elmer to the current slate of adult animated projects we are building here at HBO Max, and we think fans will agree. We are proud to introduce this distinctive group of series from a wide range of diverse creators that will form a first stop destination for animation lovers everywhere.”
So far, there are no release dates in place for any of these new projects. A huge trove of animated movies and series are streaming now on HBO Max.
