Home is where the heart is — but also the danger, if you’re Veronica Mars.
The private investigator is back in Hulu’s new “Veronica Mars” Season 4 trailer. It teases her return to Neptune after a decade, and it’s nothing short of explosive. While the preview starts off with a lot of sunny spring-break fun, it quickly takes a turn. A literal bomb goes off, as we saw in the first teaser, and just like that, Veronica (Kristen Bell) has someone dangerous to track down.
There seems to be a campaign against Neptune, and it involves spring breakers being murdered. The description notes that this is a “mystery that pits the enclave’s wealthy elites … against a working class that relies on the cash influx that comes with being the West Coast’s answer to Daytona Beach.” We’re intrigued, especially since we get to Veronica and several other familiar faces back in action. Watch below.
“Veronica Mars” Season 4 premieres July 26 on Hulu.
Have (no) mercy! The first trailer for Hulu’s “Veronica Mars” revival is here.
Kristen Bell returns as the crime-solving, taser-wielding sleuth, who is pulled into an investigation of a murder spree during Neptune’s spring break season. The bad guys had better watch out.
“When your best friend is murdered before your 17th birthday, you don’t develop a keen sense of mercy,” Veronica says, right before tasing a would-be mugger.
The revival is set five years after the events of the 2014 movie, and reunites all the original players including Enrico Colantoni as Keith Mars and Jason Dohring as Logan (looking ripped as he emerges from the surf). Shippers will be glad to see LoVe is still going strong, with a brief tease of a sexy scene between Logan and Veronica.
There are also glimpses of new cast members J.K. Simmons, Patton Oswalt, and Kirby Howell-Baptiste (Bell’s “Good Place” co-star).
The new iteration of the CW show premieres on Hulu on July 26. It will debut before that at ATX’s Television Festival in Austin in June.
All three seasons of the original series will be available on Hulu once the new limited series debuts.
The season’s official synopsis: “Spring breakers are getting murdered in Neptune, thereby decimating the seaside town’s lifeblood tourist industry. After Mars Investigations is hired by the family of one of the victims to find their son’s killer, Veronica is drawn into an epic eight-episode mystery that pits the enclave’s wealthy elites, who would rather put an end to the month-long bacchanalia, against a working class that relies on the cash influx that comes with being the West Coast’s answer to Daytona Beach.”
Many of the show’s central cast will be returning, including Ryan Hansen, Enrico Colantoni, Ken Marino, Percy Daggs, and Jason Dohring. Series creator Rob Thomas is also returning.
NBC wants to stay in “The Good Place” a little longer: The network has renewed the hilarious afterlife sitcom for a fourth season.
Though an exact episode count for season four has “yet to be determined,” the network had nothing but praise for the series. In announcing the renewal, execs touted the show’s unparalleled creativity and amazingly talented ensemble, led by Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil, Manny Jacinto, and D’Arcy Carden.
“Congratulations to [creator] Mike Schur and an exceptional cast and crew, all of whom collaborate to create a thoughtful, mind-bending and hysterical series unlike anything else on television,” said Tracey Pakosta and Lisa Katz, co-presidents of scripted programming at NBC Entertainment, in a statement. “We can’t wait to see what unexpected stories the new season will bring.”
We can’t wait, either, especially considering how many different twists the show has cycled through (and absolutely nailed, we might add) already. This season has focused on Eleanor (Bell), Chidi (Harper), Tahani (Jamil), and Jason (Jacinto) getting a re-do of their lives on Earth, with some light — then pretty direct — nudging from Michael (Danson) and Janet (Carden).
The season three midseason finale is slated to air this coming Thursday, November 6 on NBC. “The Good Place” will return sometime in January.
The “Veronica Mars” revival won’t be premiering until sometime in the second half of 2019, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t be overly-excited about it right this minute. And the latest dispatch from Veronica herself, Kristen Bell, should certainly please diehard Marshmallows.
In a Twitter post and Instagram Stories and video, Bell revealed a look at the set of the revival, offering a tour of the familiar offices of Mars Investigations. Many of the props from the original series were accounted for (hey there, Lady Justice!), and there was even a nice surprise for Veronica herself: A brand new office of her own, complete with an impressive wall of books and a fancy nameplate.
“Being in the Investigations office brings up a lot of memories, and nostalgia, and feelings of, Who on earth let us do this again?!” Bell said in one video.
Fans are no doubt similarly pinching themselves over the revival, which is slated to run for eight episodes on Hulu, and bring back much of the original cast (not to mention some pretty awesome newcomers). The “hardcore So-Cal noir,” as creator Rob Thomas put it, focuses on the murder of spring break revelers in Neptune, and how the crimes drive yet another wedge between the city’s wealthy elite and its working class.
Stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes peeks at the series. We have a feeling we’re going to be seeing a lot more before the show’s 2019 debut.
Hulu’s revival of the UPN/CW drama has cast “Good Place” alum Kirby Howell-Baptiste in a recurring role, reuniting her with star Kristen Bell. The actress also appeared in HBO’s “Barry” and BBC America’s “Killing Eve.”
In the revival, a rash of spring break murders in Neptune has decimated tourism in the seaside town. Mars Investigations is hired by the parents of one of the victims to find the killer. Soon, Veronica (Bell) is drawn into a battle between Neptune’s wealthy elite, who disapprove of the spring break bacchanalia, against the working class that depends on the cash influx.
Howell-Baptiste will play Nicole, the owner of a Neptune nightclub favored by spring breakers that Veronica believes is the killer’s hunting ground.
Original series creator Rob Thomas is writing the first episode. Most of the show’s stars are returning, including Jason Dohring, Enrico Colantoni, Percy Daggs III, and Francis Capra.
Kristen Bell is a Disney princess. She voices Princess Anna in “Frozen.” But she’s not a yes woman, and she’s not afraid to challenge the Disney tropes as she raises her daughters Lincoln, 5, and Delta, 3.
Bell recently talked to Parents about reading “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” to her daughters. Bell said, once she reads a story to her kids, they talk about and question the message:
“Every time we close ‘Snow White’ I look at my girls and ask, ‘Don’t you think it’s weird that Snow White didn’t ask the old witch why she needed to eat the apple? Or where she got that apple?’ I say, ‘I would never take food from a stranger, would you?’ And my kids are like, ‘No!’ And I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m doing something right.’”
Also…
“Don’t you think that it’s weird that the prince kisses Snow White without her permission?” Bell says she has asked her daughters. “Because you can not kiss someone if they’re sleeping!”
Bell’s interview happened to be posted around the same time that new Disney star Keira Knightley was talking to Ellen about banning her kids from watching certain Disney princess films.
Warner Bros.
This is not the first time anyone has challenged Disney princesses, but it’s kind of new for high-profile Disney stars to do it in interviews. That said, they weren’t bashing all Disney movies, just speaking for themselves and appreciating evolution away from the early “Snow White,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and “Cinderella” passive-damsel-in-distress storylines.
Of course, there was blowback — even though neither actress was suggesting other fans follow their lead. Conservative Ben Shapiro jumped on Bell’s comments, and she defended herself in the replies:
Marshmallows, brace yourselves! Hulu’s revival of “Veronica Mars” is going to dark places. Very dark.
Star Kristen Bell warned fans of the former UPN/CW mystery drama that the eight-episode limited series will very much be the “Hardcore So-Cal Noir” that creator Rob Thomas teased on Twitter.
“It’s gonna be a much darker world, it’s going to be a bigger world, it’s definitely not what we did on UPN or The CW, so I want to brace fans for that,” Bell told SiriusXM’s Entertainment Weekly Radio.
“It’s going to be darker and bigger and more cinematic, a little bit different.”
The miniseries will take place five years after the 2014 Kickstarter-funded movie and two subsequent novels co-written by Thomas. It’ll be set during spring break and Mars Investigations is hired by the parents of one murdered spring breaker.
In addition to Bell, original series cast members Jason Dohring, Percy Daggs II and Francis Capra are set to reprise their roles.
As for the somewhat surprising revival, Bell said the timing seemed right for Veronica Mars to return.
“Particularly now, you want to see a girl who’s fighting for good,” she said. “You want to see a superhero without a cape who has nothing at her fingertips but her wit and her intellect. You want to see her better the world around her. People want to see a hero again.”
Mars Investigations is once again open for business.
On Thursday, actress Kristen Bell confirmed the news that Marshmallows have been waiting years to hear: “Veronica Mars” is officially set for a revival series, which will air on Hulu sometime in 2019. In a video message posted on her social media accounts, Bell said that all three previous seasons of the series — which aired on The WB and The CW from 2004 to 2007 — would be available to stream on Hulu next summer.
“Which is great,” the actress continued, “because you’ll need to brush up — since we’re making another one!”
Reports of such a revival first swirled last month, with sources saying that the show would be back in a limited-series capacity (a format that Bell herself has been talking about for a while). And don’t worry, fans of NBC’s “The Good Place” — Bell’s “Veronica” duties won’t interfere with her starring role on that sitcom.
The streaming service also revealed that the new season would consist of eight episodes, and revolve around a single plot. Here’s the official logline:
“Spring breakers are getting murdered in Neptune, thereby decimating the seaside town’s lifeblood tourist industry. After Mars Investigations is hired by the parents of one of the victims to find their son’s killer, Veronica is drawn into an epic eight-episode mystery that pits the enclave’s wealthy elites, who would rather put an end to the month-long bacchanalia, against a working class that relies on the cash influx that comes with being the West Coast’s answer to Daytona Beach.”
We seriously can’t wait. No word yet on an official premiere date, but we’re looking forward to spending most of next summer bingeing old seasons (and the 2014 movie, which will also be available on Hulu) and getting ready for more “Mars.”
Variety’s sources cautioned that a deal for the series is not yet final. That’s probably why only Kristen Bell is listed as returning at this point; other OGs will surely follow once this is final.
Bell currently stars on NBC’s “The Good Place,” but Entertainment Weekly was told this Hulu arrangement will allow Bell to appear on both shows. According to TVLine, the revival would be for eight episodes.
That fits with what Kristen Bell has said before; she’s repeatedly mentioned wanting to bring back “Veronica Mars” as a limited series or miniseries — as opposed to a full 20-24 episode network series, or another film after the 2014 Kickstarter-funded movie.
“[Creator] Rob [Thomas] and I are sort of in constant contact about when we could do it again. There’s a lot of willingness and commitment to doing it again.
Personally, and I think that Rob probably agrees, (A) we’ll never make the fans pay for it again, (B) the format works better in an episodic, where you get a little more of it. So we want to do a miniseries. We are willing to put the effort in. I mean, if I have to do it as ‘Murder, She Wrote’ at 80, we’re going to do it. It’s going to happen.”
Hopefully this Hulu series happens before Bell turns 80. Stay tuned for more updates on the eight-episode revival.
