HBO Max Orders Three New Adult Animated Series, Including ‘Clone High’ Reboot

Three new adult animated series have received orders from HBO Max, including Scooby-Doo spin-off Velma and a reboot of the vintage MTV show Clone High. The streamer has also renewed Close Enough, another adult animated series, and unveiled a slate of animated originals in development.

The new Clone High, which has a two-season order, will be a “modern refresh” of the original series (image at top) by Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Bill Lawrence, which initially aired in 2002–03. The show is set at a high school for clones of historical figures. Lord and Miller are set to return as writers and executive producers, and Lawrence will also be returning as an executive producer. Erica Rivinoja (South Park, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), who wrote on the original Clone High, is returning as showrunner. Clone High is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios.

We knew that a Clone High revival was in the works at MTV, whose parent company ViacomCBS is pulling from the back catalogs of its channels (which also include Comedy Central and Nickelodeon) to create new animated content. With the rise of streaming, ViacomCBS is also starting to produce shows for third parties: for instance, spin-off films for series like Hey Arnold, Invader Zim, and Rocko’s Modern Life have all gone to Netflix rather than its own channels. It remains to be seen how this strategy will change once the company has launched Paramount+, a bona fide streaming competitor of its own, on March 4.

Velma is a new series executive-produced by Mindy Kaling, who will voice the titular character of Scooby-Doo fame. The series is billed as a new comedic origin story about Velma, the unsung and under-appreciated brains of the Mystery Inc. gang. Charlie Grandy, Howard Klein, and Sam Register also serve as executive producers. Velma is produced by Warner Bros. Animation.

The third series, Fired on Mars, is an existential workplace comedy set on the Martian campus of a modern tech company. It is created by Nate Sherman and Nick Vokey. Pete Davidson (Saturday Night Live) voices a character, and executive-produces with Carson Mell (Silicon Valley) and Dave Sirus. The series is based on a 2016 animated short of the same name, which can be viewed below:

Close Enough, from Emmy-winning creator J. G. Quintel (Regular Show), has been renewed for two additional seasons following its season one release on HBO Max in 2020. The Cartoon Network Studios series follows a couple living in Los Angeles as they transition from their 20s to their 30s. Season two is set to premiere on February 25.

These series join HBO Max’s growing roster of current and upcoming adult animated shows, including Harley Quinn, The Prince, Santa Inc., 10 Year Old Tom, and the Boondocks reboot. The platform has also unveiled four new shows in development:

Hello Paul, from musician and creator Sean Solomon, is about a neurotic millennial cat whose intense job and freeloading mouse roommate stress him out.

Obi is about a 30-year-old man-child chasing his dream to become an artist while navigating adulthood with his friends. It is adapted from Obi Arisukwu’s popular Instagram comic strip and co-created by Arisuwku and Arthur Harris (The Last OG). The producers are Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society, Michael Schreiber for Studio71, and David Devries.

Uncanny Valley tells the story of three awkward domestic helper robots who kill their human owners and try to assume their identities. Creators and executive producers Brendan Walter and Greg Yagolnitzer are joined by executive producer Ed Helms. The series is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, and Helms’s and Mike Falbo’s Pacific Electric Picture Company. Andrew Guest is also an executive producer/writer.

Cover is an adaptation of the DC comic book of the same name created by Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack, which was nominated for multiple Eisner Awards. The story is an espionage thriller and conspiratorial love letter to the comic book industry. Bendis will write the series and Mack has signed on to direct. It will be produced by Rooster Teeth Studios.