Among Netflix’s upcoming original shows is yet another Stranger Things replacement, but this one, in particular, if done well, could last forever. While Netflix continues to add new licensed content to its catalog every week, it now mostly stands out for its original movies and TV shows. Some of the latter now rank among the best TV shows of all time, such as Ozark, Squid Game, and The Haunting of Hill House, and one of Netflix’s biggest hits to date is Stranger Things.
Created by the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things quickly took over Netflix when it debuted on the platform in 2016, and it remained one of the streamer’s biggest shows until its end in 2025. Stranger Things left a void that Netflix is already trying to fill, either with other shows from the franchise or shows produced by the Duffers, but its best one is yet to come: Scooby-Doo: Origins, the first live-action TV show in the Scooby-Doo franchise.
While the Scooby-Doo franchise is known for its blend of comedy and spooky elements, the upcoming Netflix show is going on a different route. Scooby-Doo: Origins will lean more towards teen drama, with the supernatural elements and humor that characterize the franchise. It’s this combination of supernatural, drama, fantasy, and teenage characters that makes Scooby-Doo: Origins feel like a Stranger Things-type of show, but unlike the Hawkins show, it has the potential to have a very long life.
Netflix’s Live-Action Scooby-Doo Doesn’t Have To End
The Scooby-Doo franchise has been around for 57 years, starting in 1969 with the now-classic animated series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! The show ran for two seasons (with some episodes from later shows added to it years later) and was a huge hit, kicking off the franchise everyone now knows. Over the course of nearly six decades, the Scooby-Doo franchise has expanded with more animated shows, live-action movies, unexpected crossovers, and more, some of them experimenting a bit with the franchise’s formula.
Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang have gone through some changes and different variations over the years, such as their younger versions in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo and more mature versions in the two theatrical movies in the franchise so far. Even if not all of the projects in the Scooby-Doo franchise have succeeded, they show the versatility and longevity of it, as it can be revisited many times, in different styles, with different approaches, for many years to come.
Scooby-Doo: Origins will take the audience into Camp Ruby-Spears to meet the teenage versions of Fred (Maxwell Jenkins), Daphne (Mckenna Grace), Velma (Abby Ryder Fortson), and Shaggy (Tanner Hagen). The group finds themselves entangled in a mystery involving a supernatural murder, and the only witness might be a Great Dane puppy named Scooby-Doo. The gang, then, sets out to investigate, and this becomes their first case.
Exactly how dark Scooby-Doo: Origins will be, especially compared to Stranger Things, is unclear, but the tone of the show can change the more it evolves and as the characters grow up. Speaking of the latter, the characters and actors growing up wouldn’t stop Scooby-Doo: Origins from continuing, as they can keep on playing the characters, or they can be recast, thus giving it the potential to live on for many, many years.
Scooby-Doo Needs To Get Past Season 1 First
Of course, even though Scooby-Doo: Origins has the potential to stay for a very long run, it has some obstacles to overcome first. At the time of writing, Scooby-Doo: Origins is only set for one season of eight episodes, projected for a 2027 release on Netflix, and its future will depend on those eight episodes and how well received it is by critics and general audiences.
Although Scooby-Doo: Origins has an intriguing concept and tone, and will give a new origin story to Mystery Inc. and their bond with Scooby-Doo, the show has to appeal to both fans of the franchise and a new audience if it wants to stay for more than one season. This won’t be an easy task, as Scooby-Doo: Origins has to find that middle point between keeping the essence of the franchise, bringing something fresh, and adding to the characters everyone now knows so well.
Of course, Scooby-Doo: Origins is also facing the huge challenge of changing the characters and their stories to fit the creative team’s vision for it, and sometimes changes to popular franchises aren’t well-received. Still, I don’t lose hope in Scooby-Doo: Origins being a fun and interesting take on the Mystery Inc. gang, and, hopefully, they will have a much brighter future than most Netflix original shows.