Veronica Mars is coming back, and like many shows heading from network television to the land of streaming, changes will be made. As fans of other shows that have made the leap know, there is a certain expectation. That things that fly on a network show can get a bit more adult when a series hits a streamer.
Well, do not worry. Veronica Mars is not going to go too hard on its adult content when the limited series revival hits Hulu. The fan-favorite series will be a lot like the show hardcore Marshmallows remember. Why? Veronica Mars’ creator, Rob Thomas, explained at the ATX Television Festival (via TV Guide), saying:
When we pitched to Hulu, the pitch was 'this is an adult private eye show,' and…we wrote the show believing we were going to be TV-MA. Then I got a call saying 'Oh no, we want you to be TV-14.' The word fuck appeared 18 times in the original script. . . . Their thinking is they're going to have all three seasons of Veronica Mars on their platform. They would like people to be able to go back and forth, including 14-year-olds.
That makes sense! You do not want to risk alienating the audience that you may be hoping to build. Veronica Mars was going to go sort of heavy on the F-bombs. That is, if they were planning to drop eighteen total incidents of that particular profanity in one episode. If not, then it was not that intense.
There are eight episodes in the upcoming miniseries, which puts it at around two F-bombs per episode on average. Interestingly, another cult series recently acknowledged they faced the same profanity conundrum. Former Fox series, Lucifer, ended up sticking with a similar profanity policy to the one Hulu wanted Veronica Mars to take. Like Netflix, it sounds like Hulu wanted the same type of show it was before.
When Veronica Mars started, the characters were in high school. They were last seen in the movie, which saw all of them having come into adulthood. So, it makes sense for them to potentially use some more adult language in Season 4. However, the show has always been geared to viewers in their mid-teens and up.
Veronica Mars originally aired on UPN, and then moved to The CW, where it finished its run. When Rob Thomas took the characters to the silver screen with a 2014 movie, it got a PG-13 rating by the MPAA, keeping its younger audience intact. When in doubt, leave the profanity out?
The show maintaining its TV-14 friendly rating will not be the only thing it keeps. Veronica Mars will also maintain its edge as a mystery series. Season 4’s case will revolve around a series of bombings that erupt during spring break in Neptune. Veronica and her father will be hired to find the guilty party. Something tells me the father/daughter team will succeed.
The new season will welcome a bevy of big stars, including J.K. Simmons. Fans can also expect to see the return of an original villain and the introduction of a The Good Place star. Original series star Jason Dohring will be back as Veronica’s on-again-off-again love interest Logan. Lots to look forward to, Marshmallows! Just in a TV-14 way.
Veronica Mars premieres this summer, starting July 26 on Hulu.
