‘Veronica Mars’ Final Kickstarter Tally Is 5.7M; What Have We Learned?

After a month of record-breaking fundraising, Veronica Mars‘ Kickstarter campaign has ended. Altogether, creator Rob Thomas’ raised a whopping $5.7 million, making it one of the most lucrative Kickstarter projects of all time. It’s easy to write off the campaign’s success as a one-time deal, considering Veronica Mars‘ huge cult following and the celebrity of its lead actress. However, there are a few conclusions to be drawn here other than ‘Kristen Bell has good looks and charisma.’

• ‘The future’ might look different from how we pictured it. Many people believe that shows like House of Cards represent the next wave of television, with big name projects migrating from premium cable to Internet platforms. Veronica Mars joins a number of other examples past and present (see Plane, Snakes on a) that suggest it may flow the other way. TV and film projects that best understand the Internet are more likely to make a splash offline. The reverse is not necessarily true.
• Start big. Veronica Mars drew almost $3 million in its first day alone. It ended with close to twice that amount. Obviously, Joe Indie is not going to be able to raise millions of dollars on his Kickstarter campaign. But if a project nears or surpasses its goal early on, potential donors may see that as a sign of strength and be more likely to done. After all, everyone likes to back a winner.
• Get ready for fans of famously cancelled TV shows to start lobbying for their favorite creators to start up Kickstarter campaigns. Looking at you, Freaks and Geeks.

Again, this could just be a fluke brought on by Veronica Mars‘ star power. Only one thing is certain: Given the potential of online fundraising vis-a-vis cancelled TV, Firefly fans are somehow going to become more insufferable than they were before. Goody.