Veronica Mars is an American television series created by Rob Thomas. The series ran for four seasons; it premiered on September 22, 2004, during UPN's last two years, and ended on May 22, 2007, after a season on UPN's successor, The CW. The series balances murder mystery, high school and college drama, featuring social commentary with sarcasm and off-beat humor in a style often compared to film noir. Set in the fictional town of Neptune, Veronica Mars starred Kristen Bell as the title character, a student who progressed from high school to college during the series while moonlighting as a private investigator under the wing of her detective father. Episodes have a distinct structure: Veronica solves a different "case of the week" while continually trying to solve a season-long mystery. The first two seasons of the series have a season-long mystery arc, in which the conflict is introduced in the first episode of the season and resolved in the finale. The third season takes on a different format, focusing on smaller mystery arcs that last the course of several episodes. The first season's run of 22 episodes garnered an average of 2.5 million viewers per episode in the United States. The second season decreased to an average of 2.3 million viewers; however, it included the series' highest rated episode with 3.6 million viewers. The third and final season saw an increase to an average of 2.5 million viewers. Veronica Mars appeared on a number of fall television best lists, and garnered a number of awards and nominations. At the 2007 CW Upfront, Ostroff announced that Veronica Mars was not part of the new primetime lineup, and in June 2007, TV Guide writer Michael Ausiello confirmed that the cancellation of Veronica Mars was official. In September 2018, an eight-episode fourth season was confirmed by Hulu, which was released on July 19, 2019. Series overview Episodes Season 1 (2004–05) The first season revolves around Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell), a high school student and private investigator in the fictional coastal Southern California town of Neptune. As the daughter of well-respected County Sheriff Keith Mars (Enrico Colantoni), the biggest problem in Veronica's life was getting dumped by her boyfriend, Duncan Kane (Teddy Dunn). But when her best friend Lilly Kane (Amanda Seyfried) is murdered, Veronica's life falls apart. Veronica's father accuses Lilly's father, popular software billionaire Jake Kane (Kyle Secor), of being involved in