Netflix’s ‘Scooby-Doo: Origins’ Drops Its First Look at a Baby Scooby and the Internet Cannot Handle It
For more than five decades, the name Scooby-Doo has carried an almost supernatural weight in popular culture. More than half a century after its debut, the franchise remains one of pop culture’s most recognizable properties, spanning multiple animated series and theatrical films. Now, a brand new chapter is being written, one that goes back to where it all truly started, before the Mystery Machine, before the Scooby Snacks, and before the gang ever said “meddling kids.”
Netflix’s upcoming series ‘Scooby-Doo: Origins’ will mark the first live-action series in the entire Scooby-Doo franchise, a milestone that alone would be enough to set fan communities buzzing. Production has officially begun in Atlanta, and the series is produced by Berlanti Productions, Midnight Radio, and Warner Bros. Television, with Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg serving as showrunners, writers, and executive producers.
Then came the image no one was fully prepared for. A social media post shared a first look at Scooby himself in his puppy form, a small brown Great Dane with a teal collar, photographed in atmospheric, almost cinematic lighting. The image captures a dog that looks equal parts vulnerable and curious, and it instantly set the tone for what kind of show this is going to be. This is not the goofy, broad comedy of the Saturday morning cartoon. This is something considerably moodier.
The series will consist of eight episodes and focus on the origin story of the Mystery Inc. gang. During their final summer at Camp Ruby-Spears, 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 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.
McKenna Grace leads the cast as Daphne Blake, joined by Tanner Hagen as Shaggy Rogers, Abby Ryder Fortson as Velma Dinkley, and Maxwell Jenkins as Fred Jones. Paul Walter Hauser, who won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his starring role in the Apple TV limited series ‘Black Bird,’ has also joined as a series regular, though exact character details for his role are being kept under wraps. In a wonderful nod to the franchise’s legacy, Frank Welker, who has voiced both Fred and Scooby-Doo since 1969 and 2002 respectively, is reprising the role of Scooby in the new series.
Greg Berlanti, best known for producing ‘Supergirl,’ ‘Arrow,’ and ‘Riverdale,’ will also serve as executive producer. Toby Haynes is additionally on board as an executive producer and will direct the first episode of the series. The pedigree behind the camera is substantial, blending genre television experience with deep franchise storytelling instincts.
Production is currently moving forward with a likely 2027 release window on Netflix. The darker, more grounded aesthetic suggested by that puppy first look signals a show that wants to be taken seriously as genre television, not merely traded on nostalgia. Whether this origin story can make a new generation fall in love with the Great Dane all over again is the real mystery worth solving, so share your thoughts below on whether you think a darker, live-action ‘Scooby-Doo: Origins’ is the reinvention the franchise deserves or a haunting it never asked for.
