Charisma Carpenter

Season 2 of cult hit debuts on LIVING tv from 8th June

LIVING tv was the lucky UK broadcaster that acquired cult Stateside hit Veronica Mars. They now have the second series, which makes its debut on Thursdays from 8th June at 8.00pm.

The show is set in the wealthy, seaside town of Neptune, where the rich are the ones with the power, and can seemingly make their own laws, have a vice-like grip on both the town and the high school, and will do anything to keep their secrets away from public scrutiny. Unfortunately for them, there’s Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) to deal with, a sassy 17-year-old, who has taken up the mantle of apprentice private investigator with a desire to solve the town’s seemingly unsolvable mysteries.

By day, Veronica must still has to tackle the rigours of high school life like any other teenager. She has a fellow outcast as a friend in Wallace Fennel (Percy Daggs III). They have to be particularly cautious of the in-crowd, which includes ex-boyfriend Duncan Kane (Teddy Dunn) and his best friend Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring). There’s also other strange outsiders like Weevil (Francis Capra) and his Bike Gang cohorts to have to contend with.

By night, Veronica looks after her father Keith Mars (Enrico Colantoni), a former-Sheriff, and assists with his struggling, private investigation firm. Equipped with just a camera with a state-of-the-art telescopic lens and a note book, Veronica attempts to uncover the underbelly of this California beach town. Top of the list of cases is to discover who framed her father in a scandal that cost him his job, his home and wife.

Veronica Mars has a Buffy sensibility, with echoes of Dawson’s Creek for a backdrop and Nancy Drew at the heart of its format. Veronica is relentless in a Columbo-type way, and continues to search for evidence that will clear her father’s name and get her back into the ’in-crowd’.

In Series one, Lily Kane (Veronica’s best friend) was murdered by her boyfriend’s dad, who she was also sleeping with. Having realised he had been caught out, Aaron Echols (Harry Hamlin) tried to kill Veronica, who was saved by Dad, Keith. Logan (Lily’s ex boyfriend and Veronica’s current boyfriend) landed himself in trouble with a biker gang, and ex-boyfriend Duncan found out that he was not actually her half brother, as suspected. Dealing with issues such as drug-induced rape, incest, murder, class divisions and intense rivalry means life is never dull for sharp-tongued and even sharper witted, Veronica Mars.

The second season opens with bad boy, and ultimate rich kid, boyfriend Logan (Jason Dohring) being accused of murdering a member of a rival biker gang. After being acquitted, Veronica sees Logan in a different light and returns to ex-boyfriend Duncan. Her dad is dealing with fame after being forced to publish a book on discovering Lily’s killer, best friend Wallace is accused of taking steroids, and there is worse to come in a shocking climax to the episode, plunging Veronica into a new mystery in Neptune, where things are never quite what they seem.