Veronica Mars

Fopii, Pictures:Channel 4

Channel 4

Veronica Mars is an American television series created by Rob Thomas.  The executive producers for the first two seasons were Joel Silver and Rob Thomas, and Diane Ruggiero was promoted in the third season.

The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California, and stars Kristen Bell as the title character, a student who progresses from high school to college while moonlighting as a private investigator under the tutelage of her detective father. In each episode, Veronica solves a different stand-alone case while working to solve a more complex mystery. The first two seasons of the series had a season-long mystery arc, introduced in the first episode of the season and solved in the season finale. The third season took a different format, focusing on smaller mystery arcs that would last the course of several episodes.

The first season revolves around Veronica Mars, a high school student and private investigator in the fictional Southern California seaside town of Neptune. As the daughter of well-respected County Sheriff Keith Mars, Veronica's biggest problem was getting dumped by her boyfriend, Duncan Kane, until the murder of her best friend Lilly Kane. After Lilly's murder, Veronica's life falls apart. Keith accuses Lilly's father, popular software billionaire Jake Kane, of being involved in the murder. This provokes Neptune's wrath and Keith's ousting as sheriff in a recall election, replaced by Don Lamb. Veronica's mother, Lianne, develops a drinking problem and leaves town.  After being voted out as sheriff, Keith opens a private investigation agency, Mars Investigations, where Veronica works part-time. Veronica helps her father solve cases and conducts her own investigations on behalf of friends and acquaintances at school.

The second season begins with the introduction of two new cases: a bus accident that kills several of Veronica's classmates, and the death of PCH biker gang member Felix Toombs. A school bus boarded with six Neptune High students and a teacher plunges off a cliff, killing almost everyone on board. Veronica, who was supposed to be on the bus, makes it her mission to discover why the bus crashed. Logan picks a fight with Weevil and the PCHers and ends up accused of killing Toombs, a charge he denies.

In the third season Veronica, Logan, Wallace, Mac and Dick are freshmen at Neptune's Hearst College. Two new regular main characters are introduced: Stosh "Piz" Piznarski and Parker Lee, who are the respective roommates of Wallace and Mac. The first mystery is established when Parker becomes a victim of the Hearst serial rapist, a storyline begun in the second season.