Veronica Mars

If Hulu’s revival is everything the movie should have been, that’s surely in part because it’s so timely. ... So many teen dramas have struggled to grow up along with their audiences, but Veronica Mars never sugarcoated or condescended when tackling the adult themes that made it so prescient. It makes for an elegant transition.

The fourth season of Veronica Mars, which premieres July 26 on Hulu, is fantastic. ... The result, which is an exceedingly honest look at adulthood, might not be the Veronica Mars we thought we wanted, but it is the Veronica Mars that we need.

"Veronica" doesn't pretend it's still 2004. She's a thirty-something woman who still works her high-school job, and there's no pretending it's glamorous. And for this genre, and this character, the themes of wasted potential and existential angst fit perfectly.

While it can’t capture the lightning of the original, which aired on UPN/The CW from 2004 to 2007, it’s been nurtured with such love, camaraderie and snark that fans (who go by “Marshmallows”) should be more than satisfied — and newcomers might find a new series obsession.

Veronica is back, as prickly, vengeful and noirish as ever, and television—or at least streaming services—is a more wonderfully crime-ridden place for it.

As the show has matured, so has its writing. Dialogue is as sharp and hilarious as ever, allowing the Mars clan to shine as they toss out gumshoe bon mots and pop culture references in dry tones, while it embraces the silly. ... This iteration of “Veronica Mars” is fiery, dangerous, and unpredictable.

The adult intelligence is still there, and Bell and Colantoni are still wonderful together, consistently nailing the old-Hollywood, tough-and-tender style the show demands and demonstrating seemingly effortless comic grace. But Thomas hasn’t found a really satisfactory replacement for the show’s loss of teen spirit; and the grown-up romantic travails of Veronica and Logan, a significant subplot in the new season, aren’t as compelling as their tempestuous high school amours. ... [Still,] “Veronica Mars” finds ways to charm you.

[Veronica is] at the top of her game in a clever mystery that some fans may feel take one twist too many. Still, let's hope we haven't seen the last of this fabulous character. [22 Jul - 4 Aug 2019, p.6]

It’s a terrific return to form for one of television’s all-time great underseen gems.

The best Veronica has been since its 2004 debut.

It occasionally indulges in cutesiness in its efforts to idealize the past; it’s still trying to work out how to reinvent its old storytelling tropes while it wants to reach toward the future. But over the course of its eight-episode run, the new Veronica Mars does make a strong argument that it is better equipped to handle the nostalgia problem than nearly any other revival we’ve seen so far. And the result is a sharp, wistful, melancholy season of television that is also a terrifically entertaining murder mystery.

A grown-up Veronica Mars, in the hands of the showrunner Rob Thomas, also means a grittier, more violent Veronica Mars. The upgrade doesn’t always work. ... Still, her new adventures make for an incredibly bingeable whodunit, and the biggest strength of the show continues to lie in Veronica and Keith’s relationship.

Has its moments, but the whole story drags, especially in the first half. There’s just not a good enough mystery at the heart of this season to justify eight episodes.

In their best moments, these episodes coast on the charm and precision pluckiness of star Kristen Bell and a decently curated cast of returning and new faces. In its worst moments, the new Veronica Mars struggles to generate tension around a thin and dull season-long arc, and strings along tantalizing and long-necessary character growth for a hypothetical fifth season, eschewing closure for an ending that's ill-considered on several levels.