How Veronica Mars Evolved From A Book Idea To A Cult TV Show

On the surface, "Veronica Mars" may have looked like just another teen show, but at its core, had the heart and soul of a hardboiled Hollywood noir. The series saw Kristen Bell in one of her best TV roles as the titular young detective investigating crimes in the California beach town of Neptune. The show's throwback vibe can be credited to creator Rob Thomas, who originated the idea as a potential novel series made under publishing house Simon & Schuster. 

Speaking with Salon, Thomas shared that the concept began as a "vague idea of taking the noir genre and sticking teenagers into it." Things evolved as Thomas started thinking of the story more visually rather than as a traditional first person monologue. "I started with this idea of sitting outside of a seedy motel with sort of neon-lit, black asphalt, wet, and hearing the voice of a sort of Sam Spade-ish character, and then cutting inside the car where the surveillance was going on, and realizing that you were dealing with a teenager rather than an adult," Thomas explained.

The book never moved forward, but the idea was eventually greenlit as a pilot for UPN. However, as a teen drama, the executives requested that the series open in a high school, and Thomas' original concept for the opening was cut before it aired. Luckily, was reinserted for the series' DVD.

While it's easy to imagine a series of Veronica Mars books turning into a new generation's Nancy Drew, we should be glad to have the "Veronica Mars" show. Kristen Bell tore through every minute, growing up with the character from hardboiled high schooler to harder-boiled college kid. And for Thomas, the secret sauce was what the show had to say about modern youth.

"This idea that I was attracted to, and had been thinking about since I taught high school, was this vague notion about teenagers being desensitized and jaded and sexualized so much earlier than I feel like even my generation 15, 20 years before had been," says Thomas. "That seemed like a perfect thing to try to shine a spotlight on."

Bringing Veronica Mars from the page to the screen was no easy task, and Thomas credits Bell for making the show work, from the series' first three seasons to its KickStarter funded movie and 2019 revival season. The book may have closed on Veronica Mars' story after Season 4, with no plans made to bring her back to Hulu for a Season 5, but like the gumshoe detectives who inspired her creation, Veronica Mars lives on in the lingering mysteries she couldn't solve.