New Highlights for HBO, HBO Max

Among the announcements to come out of HBO’s TCA presentation is news of three adult animated series for HBO Max, including a Scooby-Doo spin-off centered on the character of Velma Dinkley, with Mindy Kaling on board.

HBO Max gave a two-season order to Clone High, a modern refresh of the Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Bill Lawrence hit series set at a high school for clones of historical figures. Lord and Miller return as executive producers and writers. Lawrence is also returning as executive producer with Erica Rivinoja (South Park, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), who wrote on the original Clone High, returning as showrunner. The series is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios.

Velma is an adult animated comedy series telling the origin story of Velma Dinkley, the unsung and underappreciated brains of the Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. gang. An original and comedic spin that unmasks the complex and colorful past of one of America’s most beloved mystery solvers, the series is executive produced by Kaling, who will voice the titular character. Charlie Grandy, Howard Klein and Sam Register also serve as executive producers. Velma is produced by Warner Bros. Animation.

From creators Nate Sherman and Nick Vokey, Fired On Mars is an existential workplace comedy set on the Martian campus of a modern tech company. Pete Davidson voices a character and executive produces with Carson Mell (Silicon Valley) and Dave Sirus.

HBO has lined up Tina, a feature documentary from Academy Award-winning directors Dan Lindsay, T.J. Martin and Lightbox, the production company founded by Academy Award-winning producer Simon Chinn and Emmy-winning producer Jonathan Chinn, together with Emmy-nominated producer Diane Becker. The doc takes a revealing and intimate look at the life and career of musical icon Tina Turner, charting her improbable rise to early fame, her personal and professional struggles throughout her life and her even more improbable resurgence as a global phenomenon in the 1980s. The documentary debuts March 27 at 8 p.m. on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.

HBO’s The Crime of the Century is a two-part documentary directed by Emmy and Academy Award winner Alex Gibney (The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief). It is a searing indictment of Big Pharma and the political operatives and government regulations that enable over-production, reckless distribution and abuse of synthetic opiates. Exploring the origins, extent and fallout of one of the most devastating public health tragedies of our time, with half a million deaths from overdoses this century alone, the film reveals that America’s opioid epidemic is not a public health crisis that came out of nowhere.

The newly ordered Mare of Easttown stars Academy Award, Emmy and Golden Globe winner Kate Winslet (Mildred Pierce) as Mare Sheehan, a small-town Pennsylvania detective who investigates a local murder as life crumbles around her. Mare of Easttown is an exploration into the dark side of a close community and an authentic examination of how family and past tragedies can define our present. It comes from creator and writer Brad Ingelsby (The Way Back). All episodes directed by Craig Zobel (The Leftovers). The seven-part limited series debuts April 18 at 10 p.m. on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.

Also announced, the Emmy-winning drama series In Treatment will return for its fourth season this May on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max. Emmy winner Uzo Aduba (Mrs. America, Orange Is the New Black) will play the lead role of the therapist at the center of the season, as the observant, empathetic Dr. Brooke Taylor.