Alyson Hannigan

Willow on Veronica Mars! Now that the cat’s out of the bag on that divine casting move from UPN I mentioned last week—Buffy’s Alyson Hannigan playing Logan’s sister on Veronica Mars—I had a few words (gushy ones) with the show’s cast and creator Rob Thomas.

"I called and begged and begged and begged," Rob told me. "But the great thing about casting Alyson, her hesitation was like, ’Am I going back and doing the new Buffy?’ But at the same time, she said she loved the show. She knew everything that was going on and she’s a really big Jason Dohring [Logan] fan. And the fact that she would get to do scenes with Jason, actually, I think meant a lot to her."

It also meant a lot to Jason, especially given the alternative, who may surprise you. "I know originally we had thought of maybe Denise Richards to play the role of my sister," J.D. tells me, "but she would’ve brought a lot of people that would’ve seen it for only one show to check out if she was hot, you know? So it’s great, ’cause Alyson will bring the Buffy crowd. And she was so nice, so wonderful. She was nicer than any of us. I’m not joking. She was, like, beautifully nice."

As for the show’s chances of making it to season two, Rob is optimistic. "I think they’re really good. The network loves us and treats us so well. They don’t try to fix our show, and so often if you’re not doing numbers, the network tries to fix it for you. And they have told us, ’You guys are doing the show we want. It’s our job to get people to watch it.’ So, that’s been really lovely, and they’re looking for any reason to keep us. If our numbers drop in these last nine episodes, I don’t think we’d be back. If our numbers stay the same, we’re probably 50/50. If they go up at all, if they see any hopeful sign, we’ll be back. That’s my guess, and I like our chances. I would bet on us before I’d bet against us."