A classic Warner Bros. IP is headed to Netflix with a reimagening from one of the studio’s top TV producers. In a competitive situation with multiple bidders, the streamer has landed Scooby-Doo! The Live-Action Series, from Greg Berlanti‘s Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television where the company is based, sources tell Deadline.
Written by Josh Appelbaum & Scott Rosenberg (Cowboy Bebop) based on characters created by Hanna-Barbera, Scooby-Doo! is a live-action update of the popular cartoon.
In a tough marketplace, the drama project garnered interest from top buyers, ending up at Netflix with a premium, script-to-series commitment, sources said. Reps for Netflix and WBTV declined comment.
Scooby-Doo! The Live-Action Series is executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Leigh London Redman for Berlanti Productions as well as Appelbaum and Rosenberg alongside André Nemec and Jeff Pinkner under their Midnight Radio banner. Berlanti prods.’ Jonathan Gabay and Midnight Radio’s Adrienne Erickson co-executive produce.
The deal comes on the heels of Netflix releasing Berlanti Prods./WBTV’s latest series, Dead Boy Detectives, last week. The comic book adaptation landed in the streamer’s daily Top 10 U.S. series list within 24 hours and stayed in the top 3 all weekend.
At Netflix, Berlanti Prods. and WBTV are also behind You, headed into its fifth and final season, and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
Created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, the Scooby-Doo franchise was launched in 1969 with the duo’s first animated series Scooby Doo, Where Are You? for then-Hanna Barbera (later absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation). The series originally aired on CBS from 1969 to 1976, when it moved to ABC where various versions of the show aired until 1986. Spinoff A Pup Named Scooby-Doo aired from 1988-1991. Two Scooby-Doo reboots premiered as part of Kids’ WB on The WB and its successor The CW from 2002 until 2008. Further reboots were produced for Cartoon Network beginning in 2010 and continuing through 2018. Boomerang premiered original animated series Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? on its streaming service in 2019 and later on Max.
The most recent spinoff, Max original Velma from Mindy Kaling, recently wrapped its second season on the WBD streamer which also is home of the Scooby-Doo library.
A live-action film was released in 2002 starring Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne, Matthew Lillard as Shaggy, and Linda Cardellini as Velma. It spawned a 2004 sequel. An animated feature, Scoob!, was released during the pandemic.
This marks Appelbaum, Rosenberg and their Midnight Radio partners’ return to Netflix where they executive produced the Cowboy Bebop live-action series adaptation. Their recent credits also include Prime Video’s Citadel and MGM+’s From.
