Was Veronica Mars Originally Written As A Teenage Boy Detective?

It seems utterly impossible that Veronica Mars, the plucky and brilliant teenage private eye brought to life by a young Kristen Bell, could ever have been a boy. Bell's pitch-perfect performance made "Veronica Mars" into a wildly beloved cult classic that ultimately got both a crowd-funded movie and a reboot on Hulu, but according to an oral history of the series, Veronica was, originally, a boy.

Creator Rob Thomas told Nylon in 2019 that, according to his initial book deal with Simon & Schuster, he was writing a book about a young boy detective. "It was the same story, but it was the son of the local sheriff," Thomas said. "Somewhere between outlining that book and eventually writing it as a TV pilot, I knew that I really wanted to explore this loss of innocence. I had taught high school for several years, and I just thought that kids at that time were bombarded with so much information. The internet made everything available to them that they were growing up faster than my generation did, and faster than was healthy."

With all of this in mind, Thomas pivoted: "And if you're going to do something about loss of innocence, it just felt more poignant from a female point of view, someone who must grow up too soon."

As it turns out, Thomas changed his focus entirely, as he'd already been toying with the script that would eventually become the series. "'Veronica Mars' was this script that I had written. It was just sitting in a drawer, and I went over to UPN for a general meeting, and they said, "Hey, we're moving from wrestling to female empowerment." And I said, "I have that script. I will go home and send it to you." I decided going in, 'I'm just going to write this script how I want it to be, and I'm not going to think about networks, I'm not going to think about standards and practices. I'm just going to write the script that I want to without any studio or network guiding me.'"

Bell, who brought the young detective to life, said that she rewatched the first season before speaking to Nylon, and it struck her just how ground-breaking the show was; in the pilot episode, Veronica says to the audience in voiceover, "Do you want to know how I lost my virginity? So do I." As Bell put it, "And I'm so proud of it. TV has changed so much in the past few years. We are seeing much more diversity and representation. Gender stereotypes are being broken. It's so wonderful. But, when Veronica Mars was on, there were still very few shows on the air that showcased an empowered female character."

There's no question that the role of Veronica is dark and challenging; not only does Veronica investigate her own sexual assault, she spends the first season trying to figure out who killed her best friend Lilly Kane (Amanda Seyfried, seen exclusively in flashback). Enrico Colantoni, who played Veronica's loving father Keith Mars, remembers keeping an eye out for her on set. "She was a young up-and-coming star at the time who still relied on, you know, maybe the experience of an elder," he recalled. "I kind of took that upon myself in the beginning. It didn't last long because she's savvy, she's smart, and she knows how to take care of herself. But in the beginning, I felt like I did have a paternal impulse toward her, wanting to protect her. That's been my little secret. I'm still very protective of her."

This incredibly sweet anecdote, Bell did admit that it was tough to film that inaugural season — "The first season was a lot—mentally and physically" — but she returned for two more seasons, a movie, and the reboot. Even still, after that reboot, she said she'd still come back; in 2019, she told Entertainment Weekly, "I am wholeheartedly committed to playing this character until the fans don't want me to anymore. I would play it till she hits 'Murder She Wrote,' and everyone in Neptune is dead. Because it feels that good to play her."

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).