Live-Action Scooby Doo Show From Arrowverse Producer Coming To Netflix, Story Details & Episode Count Revealed
Scooby-Doo will be returning to live-action in a new Netflix series. The franchise, which follows a group of teenagers and their talking dog solving mysteries, began as a Hanna-Barbera animated series in 1969 and has since grown into a massive multimedia franchise. In addition to more than a dozen Scooby-Doo TV shows, the franchise includes two live-action movies from the early 2000s starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., Linda Cardellini, and Matthew Lillard (who has since reprised his role as Shaggy in a wide variety of animated properties).
Per Deadline, Netflix has greenlit an eight-episode live-action Scooby-Doo series that will follow the origins of the Mystery Gang. The show, which is the first-live action series in the franchise, will be co-written and co-showrun by producers Josh Appelbaum (Citadel) and Scott Rosenberg (Cowboy Bebop), and produced by Midnight Radio's André Nemec and Jeff Pinkner (alongside Appelbaum and Rosenberg), Berlanti Productions' Greg Berlanti (one of the key creatives behind The CW's Arrowverse), Sarah Schechter, and Leigh London Redman, and Warner Bros. Television, which is also the studio. Read the official synopsis below:
During their final summer at camp, old friends Shaggy and Daphne get embroiled in a haunting mystery surrounding a lonely lost Great Dane puppy that may have been a witness to a supernatural murder. Together with the pragmatic and scientific townie, Velma, and the strange, but ever so handsome new kid, Freddy, they set out to solve the case that is pulling each of them into a creepy nightmare that threatens to expose all of their secrets.
Netflix's VP, Scripted Series Peter Friedlander said that "we're committed to delighting longtime fans and opening up a world of groovy adventures for a new era of meddling kids." Read Friedlander's full comment, as well as comments from Berlanti and Warner Bros. Television President, Creative Affairs Clancy Collins White, below:
Peter Friedlander: Mystery, Inc. is back in business! We’re excited to bring Scooby-Doo to TV as a live-action series for the first time. The beloved franchise has had an impact on pop culture that is undeniable — it’s rich with universal themes of friendship that generations of fans have long embraced. Together with creative powerhouses Berlanti Productions and Midnight Radio, we’re committed to delighting longtime fans and opening up a world of groovy adventures for a new era of meddling kids.
Greg Berlanti: One of my first and favorite jobs in Hollywood was sitting with Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera while they signed animation cells. Josh and Scott and everyone at Midnight Radio have crafted a story that captures their amazing spirits and their genius creation. We are grateful to them and everyone at Warners and Netflix for the partnership in helping bring this iteration of Scooby-Doo to life!
Clancy Collins White: We’re thrilled to collaborate with our longstanding partners at Berlanti Productions and with Midnight Radio to bring the legendary Scooby-Doo franchise to a live-action series for the first time. It’s no mystery why audiences continue to love these iconic characters after more than a half century. We’re excited for a new generation to discover Mystery Inc. And we’re grateful to our partners at Netflix for the opportunity.
What This Means For Scooby-Doo
It Fills A Void In The Franchise
In addition to being the first live-action series in the Scooby-Doo franchise, the currently untitled Netflix show is one of the first series in the franchise since the cancellation of the adult-oriented Max animated series Velma in 2024, joining Cartoon Network's upcoming animated project Go-Go Mystery Machine. It is also the first live-action project in the franchise in general since the 2018 direct-to-video prequel movie Daphne & Velma, which starred Sarah Jeffery and Sarah Gilman in the title roles and followed the duo's adventures in high school.
Velma, which starred Mindy Kaling in the title role, ran for two seasons and a total of 21 episodes.
Although many installments have explored the origins of the mystery gang, the Netflix show seems to be presenting a new version of the canon. The specifics of the synopsis do not gel with those of Daphne & Velma or the 2020 animated movie Scoob!, which followed Shaggy meeting Scooby before meeting his future friends Fred, Velma, and Daphne. However, the show could fill the void left by the prequel Scoob! Holiday Haunt, which is a finished movie that was never released, as it was shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery in 2022 as a tax writeoff.
Our Take On The Scooby-Doo Announcement
Greg Berlanti Is A Promising Presence
Another positive factor in the Scooby-Doo announcement is the fact that Greg Berlanti is involved in the project. As both a creator and executive producer, he has been behind quite a few successful shows that explore characters from pre-existing franchises. In addition to the Arrowverse (an interconnected DC Comics television universe that includes Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl), this robust roster includes All American: Homecoming, Riverdale, Kung Fu, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Dead Boy Detectives, and You.
Source: Deadline
