Scooby Dooby Doo, where are you? On Netflix, it seems. Yes, it appears as though the world’s largest streaming service is looking to get into the Mystery Incorporated business as a live-action Scooby-Doo series is in the works. While details are currently slim, the project hails from one of the most prolific television producers of our time, Greg Berlanti.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix is nearing a deal for a new live-action Scooby-Doo series that will be based on the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon. Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg (Cowboy Bebop, High Fidelity) are on board to write the series, with Berlanti producing. This is described as a script-to-series deal. In essence, if Netflix likes the script once it comes in, a full season would be ordered at that time. It’s a little unclear at this stage how far along Appelbaum and Rosenberg are but this seems to be in the relatively early stages.
What’s interesting is that the show is set to go to Netflix rather than Max, which is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Scooby-Doo, as a franchise, is owned by Warner Bros. and most big companies like to keep their franchises in-house. To that end, the animated series Velma, which is based on the character from the Scooby-Doo universe, recently premiered its second season on Max. But WB has been more willing to partner with other outlets on shows. Dead Boy Detectives, for example, ending up moving from Max to Netflix.
As for Berlanti, the man’s resume is truly dizzying at this point. He was the architect behind DC’s Arrowverse on The CW, producing shows like Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl. He’s also produced other hits such as Riverdale and All American, among many others. To date, he’s had seven shows make it to at least 100 episodes. Berlanti also already has a relationship with Netflix as a producer of the hit series You. So it’s not surprising that they would be eager to get in bed with him for a project based on a franchise that has endured in the public consciousness for more than 50 years.
Scooby-Doo, Where Are you! premiered in 1969 and, in the decades since, Scooby and the Mystery Inc. gang have appeared in more than a dozen shows and over 40 movies. Warner Bros. released the animated feature Scoob! in 2020. They did, however, scrap a sequel titled Scoob! Holiday Haunt, which was nearly completed but will never be released. As far as live-action goes, Scooby-Doo was released in 2002, becoming a sizable hit. It was followed by a sequel in 2004, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. This new show will be the first live-action series in the history of the franchise.
The new Scooby-Doo show does not currently have a release date but stay tuned.
