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"Scooby-Doo" making a comeback with live-action series set for Netflix

By Chris Morgan | Last updated Mar 26, 2025 3:55 PM ET

Nobody is here to say the universe of "Scooby-Doo" is sacrosanct. The original Hanna-Barbera cartoon from 1969, while fun, isn't exactly lushly animated or densely plotted. In the ensuing years, there have been a litany of versions, on the small screen and the big screen.

One cannot watch "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo" and then try and argue that Scooby and the gang have a legacy that needs protecting. Many "Scooby-Doo" projects, including the recent film "Scoob!" and Mindy Kaling's "Velma," are bad, but some of them are good. You ever seen "Be Cool, Scooby-Doo?" That's just a legitimately-good animated sitcom.

Thus, the news that Netflix is moving forward with an eight-episode season of a live-action "Scooby-Doo" is not in and of itself discouraging. Although, we will note they have yet to make anything involving Mystery Inc. and live-action entertainment that is anything other than mediocre at best. Then, we saw the words "modern reimagining" attached to this project.

The description of the show provided is as follows:

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.

Look, maybe it Netflix's show will be good, but the idea of a live-action, "modern reimagining" of "Scooby-Doo" with that premise feels like a parody of a bad, craven Hollywood idea. Fortunately, there are plenty of places to get one's Mystery Machine fix even if the Netflix show turns out to be less than stellar. You can even watch Scooby and the gang hang out with Kiss!

(h/t Variety)

Chris Morgan

Chris Morgan is a Detroit-based culture writer who has somehow managed to justify getting his BA in Film Studies. He has written about sports and entertainment across various internet platforms for years and is also the author of three books about '90s television.

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