Unusual, Meta ‘Veronica Mars’ Web Series Gets September 15 Debut Date

The Veronica Mars web series that we first heard about back in January is taking shape. We now know that creator Rob Thomas has reunited his entire cast for the eight-episode series, which will be called Play It Again, Dick and will launch on September 15th on the CW Seed platform.

Play It Again, Dick does not sound like a typical web companion. Instead of branching off from the series’ storyline, the series will follow actor Ryan Hansen, who played Dick Casablancas on Veronica Mars. Here, Hansen will play a fictionalized version of himself who is interested in creating a spinoff series. At the same time, Hansen will also portray himself portraying Dick, adding multiple levels to the narrative.

Most of the original Veronica Mars cast members will portray both their real-life selves and their on-screen characters, but (in case things weren’t complex enough already), some characters will only portray their on-screen roles while others (such as frequent Rob Thomas collaborator Ken Marino) will only appear as their real-life selves.

In 2013, six years after Veronica Mars left the air, Thomas revived it by launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund a feature film based on the series. That project achieved historic success, raising $5.6 million and green-lighting a film that ultimately debuted in March 2014. That film drew a solid critical response, though it failed to strike it big at the box office. The web series is the next step in Veronica Mars‘ revival, and it joins an up-and-coming library on CW Seed, where viewers can also find series like Husbands and L.A. Rangers.

Play It Again, Dick looks like exactly the sort of web companion that needs to become more common. It’s a weird, experimental concept, and even though I’m no “marshmallow“, I’m still excited about it.