Charisma Carpenter

Thank goodness VERONICA MARS is on UPN, otherwise the show would have been cancelled long before the new year. The teen private eye show (which lies somewhere between a weekly Nancy Drew mystery and the intelligent quirkiness of BUFFY sans the non-genre elements of that show) has created a huge buzz all year long and has a faithful cult audience, It’s quirky, intelligent and far more entertaining than a show like THE O.C. which has already over-stayed its flavor of the month status by a year and a half.

Created by Rob Thomas (not the MATCHBOX 20 singer) and executive produced by action god Joel Silver, VERONICA MARS stars Kristen Bell as the titular heroine who works with her private eye father Keith Mars (Enrico Colantoni) while solving small cases amongst her peers.

The biggest mystery though - and one that has kept fans glued to the screen all season - is who killed Veronica’s best friend Lilly Kane (Amanda Seyfried). The season finale airs tomorrow at 9:00pm and all will be answered, but not without giving you a reason to stay tuned in the fall. .

Creator Thomas recently took some time to talk to iF MAGAZINE about what to expect in the season finale as well as what’s in store for VERONICA MARS in Season 2.

iF MAGAZINE: Is there a danger in having season long arcs or is it one of the reasons why people are so attracted to the show?

ROB THOMAS: I think there is a danger in anything you do. Had we had to extend the mystery for five seasons, the whole 100-episode mystery, I think people would have grown frustrated and disinterested.

iF MAGAZINE: Are you worried viewers may be less interested after the big mystery is solved?

THOMAS: I’m worried about having as good a Season 2 mystery as we had in Season 1, but I really love the idea. I love our Season 2 idea, so I’m actually moderately confident.

iF MAGAZINE: Do you have Season 2 completely planned as to what the mystery is going to be?

THOMAS: I probably have Season 2 as planned as Season 1 was, when I went in, which is to say, I know the broad strokes, I know who did it, I know how it was done, I know the big arcs, but we’re always filling in the details. Those are week to week. It’s a week to week challenge in the writers room figuring out how much information we want to dole out to the audience.

iF MAGAZINE: Sounds like there’s a murder next year?

THOMAS: There is going to be death, if that’s vague enough. I wish I could say more than that. People will die. I can’t do a VERONICA MARS season long mystery about insurance fraud.

iF MAGAZINE: Did you know from the first episode who killed Lilly Kane?

THOMAS: Yes.

iF MAGAZINE: Any interesting diversions along the season that took you in directions that surprised you?

THOMAS: I think Logan became a much bigger character than anticipated. It’s the result of Jason Dohring being an engaging performer that all the writers want to write for him. As far as Season 1, there weren’t any unexpected diversions.

iF MAGAZINE: Anything interesting in store for Logan next season.

THOMAS: There is going to be a cool resolve at the end of the season finale that will raise as many questions as answers as far as Veronica and Logan’s love life.

iF MAGAZINE: Will the entire cast be returning for Season 2

THOMAS: Yes, all the series regulars.

iF MAGAZINE: Will Alyson Hannigan have a bigger part next year?

THOMAS: My wife to be is friends with Charisma Carpenter who is a huge fan of the show, so I’m waiting for the right moment to throw Charisma into it as well. Between Charisma and Alyson, that’s the extent of my BUFFY plans.

iF MAGAZINE: Is the season finale is a huge action episode and more ambitious than the normal episode?

THOMAS: That’s totally true. Our normal budget for an episode is right around $1.7 million, and I think we spent $400,000 extra. We shot a full extra day with our normal unit and three days of second unit, so there is more action than you’ve ever seen on VERONICA MARS.

iF MAGAZINE: Will the season finale be satisfying or will it be a cliffhanger?

THOMAS: We’re going to pick up next year, at the beginning of the school year in the show. I think there’s going to be 80 percent total satisfaction. People will know who killed Lilly Kane. And there won’t be that twist at the end that "perhaps they didn’t do it." I’m not going to be leaving people like that. However, at the end of the episode, it gives us a pretty big cliffhanger question as well.

iF MAGAZINE: Will the DVD box set come out before Season 2 comes out?

THOMAS: That’s the plan, but there’s a downside to that. There was much worries on our end trying to decide what to do. We were given the option of "you can release it January next year with all the bells and whistles or we can rush it out before the next season starts, but it will just be the episodes and maybe a blooper reel." After a lot of consternation, we chose to get it out sooner, make it so it will help introduce the new season. I know I’ve been introduced to series through complete box sets. I watched Season 2 of 24, because I watched Season 1 on DVD. That’s the trade off. Of course the ultimate wish is five years from now we’re doing the complete box set retrospective, where we get to add all the commentaries.