Fans are obsessed with Kristen Bell. They want to know everything they can about her relationship with Dax Shephard. Heck, they even want to know if she's secretly hiding tattoos from us. Then there's the topic of Kristen Bell's net worth and all of the projects that made it so impressive. Of course, you just can't talk about Kristen Bell's career without mentioning Veronica Mars.

The series about a cynical 17-year-old detective really hit home with audiences. Not just because of its balance between the fun, the comedic, and the gut-wrenchingly awful, but also because of Kristen's star-making performance. The series, which ran on-and-off between 2004 and 2007 and came back briefly in 2019, was the brainchild of Rob Thomas. It was his brilliant voice that brought the series, and Kristen's performance to life. This is how he did it...

The Series Was Based On A Book The Creator Had Written

You can't say that Veronica Mars was 'a hit'. After all, the ratings for the show were modest at best, according to a superb article by Vanity Fair. However, it did launch the careers of Amanda Seyfried, Tess Thompson, and, of course, Kristen Bell. The show's cult-status is something the die-hard fans will defend to their deaths. And that's totally understandable as Rob Thomas' series was beautifully executed, thought-provoking, and downright fun.

Rob began his career writing novels. The fourth book he ever wrote was about a male teen detective and this was the basis of the idea that ultimately became Veronica Mars.

"[The male character] was going to go to Westlake High School, which is a rich suburban school district in Austin. I went there as a kid, not because we lived in the district but because my dad was the vice-principal. Those were the John Hughes years for me," Rob Thomas explained to Vanity Fair.

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While working as a high-school English and journalism teacher to pay his bills, Thomas came up with the idea of the teen detective.

"I thought how prematurely jaded this generation of teenagers was becoming. How there’s so much information available to them that they become older [at a younger age]. So I knew thematically, I wanted to do a story about someone who’d lost their innocence before they should. At some point, I thought, it’s an interesting story as a boy—but feels righter if that person’s a girl."

Making It Something Hollywood Wanted

After calling it quits on teaching, Rob Thomas moved to Hollywood and began a career as a screenwriter. He wrote for other series for a little while, including Dawson's Creek, but soon had a deal with 20th Century Fox. This is when he wrote a darker spec script with a female teen detective. According to Vanity Fair, he came up with the name of the titular character because he was inspired by the drummer from the Replacements, Chris Mars.

With this idea, Rob took a meeting with UPN, which, according to the then-senior vice president, Maggie Murphy, was a sci-fi, wrestling, and African-American network. But it really got a boost when it started making Top Model. This gave them the chance to search for more female-driven projects that could potentially reach a larger audience.

"I thought it sounded like a current-day Nancy Drew," Maggie Murphy explained. "I didn’t know how to sell that. Then I read it…and fell in love with the words."

After UPN put the project into development, Danielle Stokdyk and Jennifer Gwartz were hired to bring it to life. As was one of the brains behind The Matrix, producer Joel Silver.

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"It was so different than anything I’d ever read…. She was an underdog we hadn’t seen before, smart and self-assured, yet vulnerable," Danielle Stokdyk, the co-executive producer told Vanity Fair.

Of course, they were also drawn to the series because of the female voice within it. After all, this was being produced at a time when two major female-led action shows were prevalent; those being Alias and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. However, they loved Veronica Mars for different reasons than Buffy or Jennifer Garner's Sydney Bristow.

"Veronica’s a whip-smart, witty girl…. In the face of the most extreme adversity and grief, she builds an emotional shield that allows her to piece her life back together," Kristen Bell explained.

Between Veronica's brains and her quick-witted tongue, the network knew that were working with a very special character.

"There are these boys at school making fun of this girl who hired Veronica to find her missing dog. Veronica takes them down, but then lays into the girl: 'You want people to leave you alone or better yet, treat you with respect? Demand it. Make them,'" Danielle Stokdyk continued. "That epitomizes who she is. She’s not a victim."

Next: Everything Kristen Bell Has Been Up To Since 'The Good Place' Ended