It’s about to be an even better time to be a fan ofKristen Bell.WithNetflix’s upcoming release ofNobody Wants This, theGood Placeactormarks her welcome return to televisionas Joanne, an outspoken agnostic woman whoforms an unlikely connectionwithAdam Brody’sunorthodox rabbi, Noah. The series offers Bell a return to comedy after her satirical turn in her last Netflix miniseries,The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window, but the premiere of the celebrity’s latest project actually marks an even more exciting occasion.Nearly twenty years beforethe day of the show’s September release,Kristen Bell first shot into the mainstream with the series that would jumpstart her career, starring as everyone’s favorite amateur sleuth in the belovedVeronica Mars.
Created byRob Thomasand featuring one ofBell’s most memorable performances, the 2004 series follows the young private eye asshe investigates various crimesand clients in the fictional town of Neptune, California, frequently coming intoconflict with her classmatesat Neptune High in the process. Featuring an iconic theme byThe Dandy Warholsthat’s just dripping with mid-2000s angst and a setting that can’t help but evoke nostalgia for the turn of the century, Thomas' showperfectly blends the heightened drama of high school with the dangerous tension of great television, forcing Veronica to navigate her relationship withJason Dohring’sLogan Echolls while also solving her best friend’s (Amanda Seyfried) murder. Over the course of the show’s four seasons, Veronica’s personal conflicts only grow as her investigations lead her deeper intothe darkest parts of human nature, resulting in a unique seriesunafraid to tackle issues still plaguing America today.
‘Veronica Mars’ Has a Long, Complicated Legacy on Television
Unfortunately, despitethe series' thrilling premise, dedicated cast, and atmosphere of constant intrigue,Veronica Mars’original run was still plagued by persistent problems. Beforea series of revivalsdelivered the show’s dedicated fandom their hard-won continuation,Bell’s formative television outingwas cancelled after just three seasonsin 2007, having suffered from low ratings throughout its early episodes. As the show’s first two seasons aired on the ill-fated UPN Network, this official cancellation came from The CW, and it would take nearly a decade after the premiere ofVeronica Mars’first episode for the wise-cracking detective to continue her story. Thankfully,a crowdfunded Kickstarter campaignenabled Thomas and Bell to fund aVeronica Marsmovie in 2014, demonstratingthe power of the show’s fandomand connection to the series' characters.
When the late 2010s began the streaming age in earnest,Veronica Marsonce again rose from the ashes to debut a fourth season onHulu, the series’final revival whichoffered a divisive epilogueto the otherwise acclaimed series. Presenting fans with fewer episodes than any of the original seasons, Season 4’s most controversial moment unfolds at its very end, as a car bomb placed byPatton Oswalt’svillain shockingly kills Logan, undermining Veronica’s recent happiness with her longtime boyfriend andmarking a dark end tothe character’s long road to redemption. With the subsequent announcement that there wereno plans forVeronica MarsSeason 5, the world that followed many viewers into adulthood seemed to have come to a bitter conclusion. However, there’s still plenty to love about one of Bell’s most iconic TV series.
Kristen Bell Tackles Themes That Are Still Relevant in ‘Veronica Mars’
Aside from its witty lead, what makesVeronica Marsso satisfying is the show’s willingness to tackle heavy, highly important themes. From its handling of Veronica’s assault at the hands of Cassidy Casablancas (Kyle Gallner) throughout its first two seasons todepicting rape culture on college campusesin Season 3, Thomas' seriesdoesn’t shy away from exploring personal traumaand the failure of social systems.The show retains this strong social focus throughout its runtime, contrasting the privileges of Neptune’s wealthy 09ers with the plight of Neptune’s less fortunate locals like Weevil (Francis Capra). What’s more, withAdam Scott’sappearance halfway through Season 1 as a predatory high school teacher andSteve Guttenberg’sturn as Neptune’s short-lived, pedophilic mayor,Veronica Marsdistinguishes itself fromKristen Bell’s lesser-known showsthroughits commitment to depicting all different shades of evil.
In many cases, the storylinesVeronica Marsportrays have only become more important today. After it is revealed that Logan’s high-profile father (Harry Hamlin) murdered Veronica’s best friend, the character’s struggle with paparazzioffers audiencesinsight into the dangerous media landscape of mid-2000sgossip culture. This toxic perspective has been increasingly scrutinized since the public re-emergence of celebrities likeBritney Spears.In Season 2, Episode 21, “Happy Go Lucky,” the series portrays a school shooting when Lucky (James Jordan),an Iraqi war veteranand victim of Guttenberg’s Woody Goodman, pulls a gun in Neptune High’s cafeteria, depicting what would continue to become a familiar tragedy for the next generation of students to watch the series.
Even when Bell’s title character isn’t involved with her investigations, the series takes advantage of its time period to create especially foreboding plot points that reinforce its central themes. In Season 3, for instance, Veronica and her boyfriend, Piz (Chris Lowell), are victims of revenge porn when they are videotaped having sex without their consent, an intrusive, infuriating digital footprint that Veronica’s old enemies still use to haunt her in 2014. And while Veronica’s father (Enrico Colantoni) is eventually able to help his daughter combat the wealthy secret society that appropriated her intimacy, the pair’sNancy Drew-inspired dynamic inVeronica Marsdoesn’t take away from the relevancy ofa crime that has only grown more dangerous in the digital age.
We Nearly Had a ‘Field of Dreams’ TV Show With Kristen Bell and Nick Offerman
‘The Good Place’ and ‘Parks and Recreation’ creator Mike Schur had major (league) plans.
‘Veronica Mars’ Marked the Start for Countless Future Stars
On the bright side, Thomas' series is insightful in a more positive way as well. While the series' dark subject matter testifies to its brave creative choices and skill at capturing the enduring ills of society,Veronica Mars’casting also possessed great foresight by placing its faith ina generation of actors who would go on to achieve even greater success in the future. While Kristen Bell would go on to become one ofDisney’s most iconic voice actorsfor her role inFrozen, two future fixtures of Marvel’s superhero universe,Krysten RitterandTessa Thompson, alsoappeared frequently in the series, with Ritter playing Woody Goodman’s daughter, Gia, ina bubbly departure from her irascible tenure as Netflix’s Jessica Jones.
A youngerJessica Chastainlikewise features prominently in one of the darkest episodes ofVeronica MarsSeason 1, “The Girl Next Door,” as Sarah Williams, a woman whose pregnancy holds a bitter secret, andMax GreenfieldofNew Girlfame appears as Sheriff’s deputyLeo D’Amato, Veronica’s brief love interest before she commits to Logan. Of course, no show ages perfectly, andVeronica Marsis no different. In particular, the series' flippant, at timesinsensitive handling of LGBTQ+ issuescertainly invites further consideration, and occasionally Veronica herself engages in victim-blaming behavior that is not always suitably resolved. That said, the show’s shortcomings don’t negate its relevance to the present, and all four of the series' hard-fought seasons stillrepresent struggles that have become increasingly relatable in today’s society.
Veronica Marsis available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.
Veronica Mars
WATCH ON HULU
