Velma creator hits back at critics who hated the series and made it third lowest rated show ever

It's safe to say that audiences weren't particularly fond of HBO Max's TV series Velma.

The 10-part series follows Scooby-Doo's Velma Dinkley and her backstory.

Viewers get to see iconic character investigate the murders of local teenage girls at the same time as she's trying to solve the mystery behind her missing mum.

Jinkies.

Mindy Kaling stars as Velma while Constance Wu voices Daphne, and Sam Richardson plays Shaggy.

While it was a fresh take on the role, people flocked to review sites to tear it to pieces.

Some even went so far as to claim that the show has 'ruined' Scooby Doo for good.

Taking to social media, one person said: "Can we stop letting people that don't respect the original media get a hold of it and ruin it? We have The Witcher, Percy Jackson, a ton more, and now Velma. Scooby Doo does not need to be turned into one of these god awful 'adult comedy' shows."

Another added: "Every character is insufferable. Whether it is the god awful quips which never land or the ridiculous backstory they gave to Velma, the show constantly falls flat on its a**."

Meanwhile, a third simply said: "That Velma show looks so awful."

The programme became the third-worst rated series on IMDb, which is an accolade no one ever wants.

However, the creator of the show has hit back at all the criticism and said they haven't harmed Scooby's legacy.

Charlie Grandy said in the Emmys magazine: "The original Hanna-Barbera shows are still out there to watch.

HBO Max

"We are not erasing the originals. We just want to be a little ice planet on the outer regions of the Scooby-verse!"

He added: "Mindy [Kaling] came to me and said she'd love to work on a story with Velma…She loved the character and thought it would be funny to have her at the center of a show.

"We asked ourselves, 'Why stop [at Velma being South Asian]?' None of these characters are rooted to being white.

"We were worried about going to Warner Bros. and asking them to do it, but they said, 'Do it. It's time! Just make sure it's funny and good!'"

It seems like the negative reviews and harsh criticism hasn't affected HBO's feelings on the series as a second season has been officially commissioned.

It's unclear when the next instalment will land on the small screen but you can bet your bottom dollar that everyone will be seeing if it gets better reviews than the first.