Netflix has assembled the human part of Mystery Inc., the amateur sleuthing gang at the heart of Scooby-Doo. Tanner Hagen (The Pitt, Dark Light) will play Shaggy Rogers, Abby Ryder Fortson (Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret, Carousel) will portray Velma Dinkley and Maxwell Jenkins (Lost in Space, The Bondsman) is set as Fred Jones in the untitled Scooby-Doo live-action series, joining previously cast Mckenna Grace as Daphne Blake.
This caps a lengthy talent search for the leads in the live-action reimagining of Warner Bros.’ classic Scooby-Doo cartoon, which tracks down how the famous mystery-solving crew and their beloved dog first teamed up. It comes from Midnight Radio, Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television.
Written by Midnight Radio’s Josh Appelbaum & Scott Rosenberg based on characters created by Hanna-Barbera, the Scooby-Doo series crafts an origin story of how the Mystery Inc. group got together and first teamed up to crack the haunting case that started it all.
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.
Appelbaum and Rosenberg serve as showrunners on the series, which the duo, André Nemec and Jeff Pinkner executive produce via Midnight Radio. Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Leigh London Redman executive produce for Berlanti Productions via the company’s Warner Bros. Television deal. Toby Haynes will direct the first episode and also executive produce. WBTV is the studio.
While this is the first live-action Scooby-Doo series, a live-action film was released in 2002 starring Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne, Matthew Lillard as Shaggy and Linda Cardellini as Velma. It spawned a 2004 sequel.