Mindy Kaling to star in "Velma"

Loading up: HBO Max already boasts an impressive animated slate that includes Studio Ghibli gems and Cartoon Network classics. And based on a few recent announcements, you can expect to see a lot more adult-focused animated titles popping up on the Warner Media-backed streamer sometime soon.

Among them is a new Scooby-Doo spinoff, with actress Mindy Kaling ("The Mindy Project") attached as both lead voice star and the series' executive producer. The recent recipient of a straight-to-series order, "Velma" will delve into the colorful past of Velma Dinkley, the "bespectacled and underappreciated brain in the Scooby gang" (per The Hollywood Reporter).

HBO Max has also green-lit a planned reboot of "Clone High," the 2002 to 2003 series that ran on MTV. Created by Bill Lawrence ("Scrubs") and filmmaking duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller ("Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs," 2009), the series centered on a high school attended by clones of famous historical figures. All three creators — Lawrence, Lord and Miller — are involved with this updated version, which was handed a two-season order. They'll serve as executive producers, while original series writer Erica Rivinoja is involved as showrunner.

And the list keeps growing. The workplace-themed comedy "Fired on Mars" has been picked up straight to series and will feature a character voiced by "Saturday Night Live" cast member Pete Davidson. "Close Enough" has been renewed for two more seasons, and at least four more shows are in development, including "Obi" from Michael B. Jordan's ("Black Panther," 2018) production company. A "Game of Thrones" animated series is also rumored to be under consideration.

Casting Kate: "Bridgerton" has been dominating Nielsen's streaming rankings — in fact, Netflix has already crowned it its most-watched original ever (sorry, "The Crown" fans).

The hit period drama from Netflix and Shonda Rhimes is based on the novels by Julia Quinn. If you've read the second book, "The Viscount Who Loved Me," you already know that a new character will be playing a big role in Season 2.

"We have a bunch of new characters we are going to be introducing," creator/showrunner Chris Van Dusen said while appearing on "Today With Hoda and Jenna." "Anthony is going to have a love interest next season, and I think it's going to be as sweeping and moving and as beautiful as viewers of the first season have come to expect from the show."

At the very end of Season 1, Anthony (Jonathan Bailey, "Broadchurch") vowed to find himself a suitable wife, and that new love interest will be played by British actress Simone Ashley ("Sex Education").

Kate (Ashley) is a smart, witty and headstrong young woman who is newly arrived in London. She's no wallflower; in fact, Netflix describes her as "a woman who suffers no fools — Anthony Bridgerton very much included." Her last name is Sheffield in the novel but it has been changed to Sharma since Shondaland's version of her character is South Asian.

Already, Anthony and Kate are being touted as the successors to Season 1's main couple, Simon and Daphne (played by Regé-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor). Season 2 of "Bridgerton" is scheduled to begin filming in London this spring, so expect to wait another year for its premiere.

The end is 'Nine-Nine': It is NBC's longest-running comedy and a solid performer in the ratings, but "Brooklyn Nine-Nine's" run is coming to an end — again.

The police comedy will wrap after a shortened Season 8, but don't expect to see those last 10 episodes any time soon. The network also announced the series won't return until the 2021-22 broadcast season.

Why the long wait? Reportedly, it's NBC's way of giving the series a solid sendoff. The network already has a full slate of programming to round out the 2020-21 season, and barring more pandemic-related postponements, its summer lineup will be dominated by Olympics coverage. So, the plan is to promote the final season and drum up interest ahead of its premiere sometime in fall 2021/winter 2022.

The Golden Globe-winning series continues to be a fan favorite — according to NBC, Season 7 averaged 9.5 million viewers — so the news will come as a disappointment to loyal viewers. But fans might also be hoping for a last-minute reprieve like the one it received in 2018 when Fox canceled the series and NBC swooped in to "un-cancel" it.

"I'm so thankful to NBC and Universal Television for allowing us to give these characters and our fans the ending they deserve," creator Dan Goor said. "When Mike Schur and I first pitched the pilot episode to Andy [Samberg], he said, 'I'm in, but I think the only way to tell this story is over exactly 153 episodes,' which was crazy because that was exactly the number Mike and I had envisioned. I feel incredibly lucky to have worked with this amazing cast and crew for eight seasons." Goor went on to praise the fans before adding, "Ending the show was a difficult decision, but, ultimately, we felt it was the best way to honor the characters, the story and our viewers. I know some people will be disappointed it's ending so soon, but, honestly, I'm grateful it lasted this long."