I’ve seen the topic floating about a little recently and since it’s unlikely we’ll get Scooby Doo content for a while aside from Mindy Kaling’s Velma show, I thought I’d share some of the things that would create my perfect Scooby Doo show.

1. ⁠Bring back the more serialised way stories were told like in MI. It opens doors for more development with the characters beyond a single episode.

2. ⁠Have the Mystery Inc members that don’t interact much have more screen time together. The biggest example that comes to mind is Fred and Shaggy. They lived together in What’s New, so why not bring that back and have more scenes of their day-to-day, showing that they are actually believable as close pals.

3. ⁠I’d bring Shaphne back from the age of Flim Flam and Scrappy since WB clearly wants to forget that era of the franchise and well, I quite like that era. Plus, I’ve always thought Shaggy and Daphne were a more believable couple than any other pair in Mystery Inc.

4. ⁠I’d stop tiptoeing around the fact that Velma’s a lesbian. WB wants more diversity in Scooby Doo and within the gang particularly. Velma just kinda… works as a lesbian and I think it’s the perfect opportunity for having diversity without it being forced.

5. ⁠Given the serialised format, I’d have some episodes here and there without any mystery to be solved. The arc where Shaggy and Daphne get together in particular will need episodes between the mysteries to continue to develop the feelings between the two of them. Hell, if there’s say, one mystery per week; it could be an idea to have every other episode be an episode where we explore the gang’s lives outside the mysteries.

6. ⁠I’d drop the actually supernatural stuff and go back to the monster of the week just being a guy in a mask committing tax evasion or some shit. Scooby Doo had a more fun vibe that way.

7. ⁠As tempting as it would be to give Fred a romance arc, I wouldn’t. Fred’s at his best when he couldn’t give any less of a fuck about stuff like relationships. I think he’d be perfect to fill the role of a guy who’s been so focused on achieving something that he forgot to find who he wants to be. The number one complaint about Fred over the years is that he’s a wooden and one-dimensional character. Perhaps it could be a fun idea to have an arc in universe that recognises and responds to this complaint by having him discover what makes him stand out from the other typical “jocks with hearts of gold” out there.

8. ⁠Let Scooby himself be mostly uninvolved with the interpersonal relations of Mystery Inc and basically be there to be purely comic relief and Shaggy’s talking dog sidekick. For the name of the franchise, Scoobert is a character that makes surprisingly little sense to be the focus of a show besides the whole “funny talking dog” schtick. Something which is especially noticeable in Where Are You is that Scooby doesn’t actually appear or speak all that much when compared to the human characters in Mystery Inc. The show may have Scooby’s name as part of the title, but Shaggy’s probably the closest there is to a main character.

9. ⁠I’d bring back the whole thing of the Mystery Machine actually being owned by Shaggy, funnily enough. In a couple of the show’s iterations, it’s established that the van is Shaggy’s, despite Fred still doing the driving. I think it’d be funny as just a small gag to have Fred and Shaggy talk about why Fred is the one behind the wheel.

10. ⁠Finally, I’d bring back Scrappy. In my ideal scenario, this show runs for a minimum of 3 seasons. Shaggy and Daphne get together partway through season one, and season two opens with a package being delivered to Fred and Shaggy’s place. Daphne happens to be over there and brings the package inside, where Scrappy subsequently bursts out and the first couple episodes establish him as a new member of the crew. Along with him, other recurring characters would appear in a couple of episodes, such as Scooby-Dum, the Hex Girls, Marcie and even Shaggy’s sister and Daphne’s parents in a season three that culminates in the wedding of Daphne and Shaggy.