Ron P. Jaffe/The CW, Steve Granitz/WireImage.comUnless you've been living under a rock recently, you've probably heard that Veronica Mars—at least in its TV version—is officially dead. The CW has decided not to pick it up for a fourth season.
But I have a shining, bedazzly silver lining for you fans: Miss Mars' story may live on as a comic book or as a feature film (we'll get to that). And, breaking news! VM mastermind Rob Thomas has just confirmed to me exclusively that he's stepping in as executive producer of the new comedy Miss/Guided, so we'll still get to see his work on the small screen this coming TV season. Hurrah!
"I'm the new show runner on Miss/Guided, the Judy Greer half-hour midseason for ABC," Rob tells me. "Judy plays a high school counselor who has returned to the high school she attended as a student. It was created by a talented first-year Office writer named Caroline Williams."
As I mentioned in my liveblog from ABC's upfront presentation in New York, Miss/Guided looks to be adorable, witty and funny, and I can only imagine that with Thomas on board, it will become an instant fave among us VM fans.
As for Veronica Mars, Thomas tells me: "I think the best odds for seeing the continuation of the Veronica Mars story is in comic-book form. I had a meeting with DC Comics last week. They want to do the series. I want to do the series. It's just a matter of making a deal and figuring out when I have the time to write it. And perhaps a feature screenplay will follow."
Please oh please oh please?
Anyway, congrats, R.T.! Or actually, I should probably be congratulating ABC instead. They've just inherited one of the finest TV-makin' minds of all time.