One of the best-ever detective shows is coming to Netflix…at least some of it is!
Looking back at the 2000s, it’s obvious several network TV shows would have been better for the streaming era. Back then, stretching seasons out to 22 episodes could hurt a series, especially a mystery crime drama and be a bit too smart for audiences.
That’s the case for Veronica Mars, which premiered on UPN before moving to the newly formed CW. Created by Rob Thomas, the series instantly won wide critical acclaim and a loyal audience that would carry through its three-season run.
Now, at last, Veronica Mars is set to debut on Netflix on Wednesday, Jan. 14, according to What's On Netflix. However, there’s a condition: It’s only the first three seasons of the original series. The 2014 reunion movie and the 2019 Hulu revival will not be included in the deal.
The reasons are the usual complexities of rights and licensing issues between studios. Warner Bros owned the original Mars, so they could license those three seasons for Netflix. However, the fourth season was a Hulu exclusive and so can’t be shown yet, although hopes that this may change.
Most fans will agree that those first three seasons are the must-watch anyway and it’s past time Netflix added one of the most entertaining detective shows of its era.
Why Veronica Mars still works
Veronica Mars was the breakout role for Kristen Bell, who played the titular teenager living in the California town of Neptune. The daughter of former police chief turned private eye, Keith (Enrico Colantoni), Veronica balanced high school with solving mysteries on her own. Her biggest challenge was figuring out who had murdered her best friend, Lilly Kane (a then-unknown Amanda Seyfried), leading to a larger conspiracy.
The show was a hit with critics thanks to its whip-smart dialogue, the wonderful characters and Bell’s fantastic performance as Veronica, who was coping with her own trauma while firing off one-liners. The second season had Veronica facing a larger mystery of who was behind a bus crash, while the third moved the characters to college for two arcs involving an attack and murder.
Thomas had hopes for a fourth season, even shooting a mini-episode imagining Veronica joining the FBI. It didn’t work, but the show retained that huge following, so in 2014, a Kickstarter-funded theatrical film reunited the cast for a new story. In 2019, Hulu revived it for a fourth season, which ended on a huge cliffhanger.
The series is still a terrific watch with the first season the best of them all. Bell has since become a star with Frozen and Nobody Wants This, but Veronica remains her best performance, carrying so many layers to the character to make her beloved. There’s also a fine supporting cast and even when the show falters a bit, it’s a more entertaining watch than many series of its time.
That’s why the show finally coming to Netflix is great news and the hope the later installments can join it as Veronica Mars is a modern TV mystery classic about to spark Netflix more.
Veronica Mars seasons 1-3 are streaming on Netflix from Wednesday, Jan. 14. Season 4 is on Hulu.
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