Those who have longed for more Veronica Mars as well as more of the awkward comedy about actors seen in Party Down will soon get both of those things, despite being such greedy babies. Buzzfeed has confirmed what was first hinted at by The CW back in January: an online-only Veronica Mars spinoff featuring (almost) everyone from the cast, with the meta spin that those actors will also be playing themselves, begrudgingly taking part in a Veronica Mars spinoff. Meanwhile, you will be playing yourself, watching a Veronica Mars spinoff about the making of a Veronica Mars spinoff. Or perhaps the part when you are not watching a Veronica Mars spinoff-spinoff is when you are playing, yes? Think about it.
As Rob Thomas, creator of Veronica Mars and Party Down and not the song “3 A.M.,” told HitFix earlier this year, the show has “more in common with Party Down tonally,” as it sees Ryan Hansen trying to exploit the recent renewed interest in Veronica Mars by launching his own spinoff series revolving around Dick Casablancas. That eight-episode show will be called Play It Again, Dick, and it’ll feature Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring, Enrico Colantoni, Percy Daggs III, Francis Capra, Ken Marino, and many more. Most are playing both their Veronica Mars characters and “slightly skewed” versions of themselves, who are none too happy to be involved in Hansen’s spinoff. Meanwhile, the actual versions of themselves couldn’t be happier to be playing sad versions of themselves in the Hansen’s spinoff about a spinoff. It all makes sense on this chart:
Some characters, like Ken Marino and Chris “Piz” Lowell will only be playing themselves, though it’s likely they will discuss their Veronica Mars characters as entities defined by a collective consciousness that hates them. Come to think of it, all of the actors will also have this external facet to their identity to contend with. Really, the series finds the actors playing versions of themselves, their Veronica Mars characters, and the idea of their Veronica Mars characters as shaped by the external observer. Except for Tina Majorino, who’s not currently signed on to play Mac. Instead, she will be playing the absence of Tina Majorino, whose specter haunts the corners of Play It Again, Dick like the ghost of Hamlet’s father.
Play It Again, Dick is set to blow your fucking mind on Sept. 15 on The CW’s Seed digital platform.