JK Simmons Joins ‘Veronica Mars’ Revival as Ex-Con Working for Richard Casablancas
Eight-episode limited series launches on Hulu in 2019
Jennifer Maas | November 15, 2018 @ 12:11 PM
Last Updated: November 15, 2018 @ 12:54 PM
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J.K. Simmons has joined Hulu’s “Veronica Mars” revival, and he’s working for Ryan Hansen’s on-screen dad, Richard Casablancas (David Starzyk), an individual with knowledge of the casting tells TheWrap.
Simmons has been cast in the eight-episode limited series as Clyde Prickett, an ex-con who served 10 years for racketeering, and was smart enough to be the first guy in Chino to offer protection to Neptune’s richest real estate developer, Big Dick Casablancas (father to Hansen’s young Dick Casablancas), on Big Dick’s first day in prison. Now a free man, Clyde works as Big Dick’s fixer. He’s the smarter and more dangerous of the pair and has a network of fellow ex-cons he can count on to keep his own hands clean.
Leading lady Kristen Bell and series creator Rob Thomas — along with a slew of other “Veronica Mars” alums — are returning for the streamer’s eight-episode run. Starzyk, Hansen, Jason Dohring (Logan), Francis Capra (Weevil), Percy Daggs III (Wallace), Max Greenfield (Leo D’Amato) and Enrico Colantoni (Veronica’s father, Keith Mars) — all regular and recurring cast members from the original series — were previously confirmed for the revival.
Simmons joins fellow series newcomers Patton Oswalt, Kirby Howell-Baptiste and Dawnn Lewis.
Here is the official logline for the project: Spring breakers are getting murdered in Neptune, thereby decimating the seaside town’s lifeblood tourist industry. After Mars Investigations is hired by the parents of one of the victims to find their son’s killer, Veronica is drawn into an epic eight-episode mystery that pits the enclave’s wealthy elites, who would rather put an end to the month-long bacchanalia, against a working class that relies on the cash influx that comes with being the West Coast’s answer to Daytona Beach.
As part of the revival deal, Hulu has also struck an agreement with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution for streaming rights to all past episodes of the original “Veronica Mars,” including the 2014 feature film. All will be available in 2019.
“Veronica Mars” debuted in 2004 and ran for two seasons on UPN, jumping to The CW for one season before getting canceled. Bell starred as the titular spy on the original series, which followed a California teen sleuth and student who led a second life as a private investigator under the guidance of her detective father.
The revival hails from Spondoolie Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. Along with Thomas, Diane Ruggiero-Wright and Dan Etheridge will serve as executive producers.
Read everything we currently know about the “Veronica Mars” revival here.
'One Day at a Time' and 20 Other TV Shows That Found New Homes After Cancellation (Photos)
One man's trash is another man's treasure. OK, no show wants to be called "trash," but if it means you're getting picked up by another network or platform after cancellation at your original home, you probably won't mind it too much. And as "One Day at a Time" was picked up for a fourth season by Pop TV last week after being canceled by Netflix in March, TheWrap thought now was the perfect time to look back at all the shows that have made a comeback on a new platform. Click through our gallery to see some of the most famous cases.
"One Day at a Time" -- Ran for three seasons on Netflix from 2017 to 2019 before being canceled in March, then picked up by Pop TV for a fourth season last week.
"Brooklyn Nine-Nine" -- Ran from 2013 to 2018 on Fox and was picked up for a sixth season by NBC one day after being canceled by its original network. Season 6 premiered in January and NBC renewed the series for a seventh in February.
Universal
"Designated Survivor" -- Ran for two seasons from 2016 to 2018 on ABC. The series was picked up for a third by Netflix last September, four months after its cancellation at ABC. Season 3 launched on the streaming service in June.
ABC
"Lucifer" -- Ran for three seasons on Fox, from 2015 to 2018, and was picked up by Netflix for a fourth season last June. Season 4 launched on the streaming service in May, and the series was renewed for a fifth and final season last month.
Fox
"Nashville" -- Ran from 2012 to 2016 on ABC, then picked up by CMT from 2016 to 2018, where it wrapped with its sixth and final season last year.
CMT
"Cougar Town" -- Ran on ABC from 2009 to 2012, then on TBS from 2013 to 2015.
TBS
"Arrested Development" -- The comedy aired on Fox from 2003 to 2006 and then moved to Netflix in 2013 for a fourth season. The show was renewed for Season 5, which premiered last May.
Netflix
"The Expanse" -- Ran from 2015 to 2018 on Syfy and was picked up by Amazon for a fourth season last May after cancellation by the NBCUniversal cable network. No premiere date has been set for Season 4 yet.
Syfy
"Futurama" -- Ran on Fox from 1999 to 2003, then moved to Comedy Central from 2008 to 2013.
Fox
"Gilmore Girls" -- Ran from 2000 to 2007 on The WB, which became The CW in the show's final season. It was revived by Netflix in 2016 for a special four-episode installment.
Warner Bros
"Community" -- Ran on NBC from 2009 to 2014 and aired its sixth and final season on Yahoo! Screen in 2015. Still no word on a movie.
Sony
"Scrubs" -- Ran on NBC from 2001 to 2008, then moved to ABC for one more season in 2009.
ABC
"The Mindy Project" -- Ran on Fox from 2012 to 2015, then moved to Hulu from 2015 to 2017.
Hulu
"Diff'rent Strokes" -- Ran on NBC 1978 to 1985, then moved to ABC from 1985 to 1986.
NBC
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" -- Ran from 1997 to 2001 on The WB, moving to UPN for its final two seasons, which aired from 2001 to 2003.
20th Century Fox
"Roswell" -- Ran on the WB from 1999 to 2001, then moved to UPN from 2001 to 2002.
20th Century Fox
"Veronica Mars" -- Ran on UPN from 2004 to 2006, then moved to The CW for a final season from 2006 to 2007. And now its eight-episode Hulu revival is set to launch on July 26.
Warner Bros
“Stargate SG-1” -- Ran on Showtime from 1997 to 2002, then moved to Sci Fi (now Syfy) from 2002 to 2007.
Showtime
"Project Runway" -- Ran on Bravo from 2004 to 2008, then on Lifetime from 2009 to 2018, and came back to Bravo in 2019 for a new season with Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn replaced by Karlie Kloss and Christian Siriano.
Lifetime
"JAG" -- Ran for one season from 1995 to 1996 on NBC, then picked up by CBS from 1997 to 2005.
CBS
"Last Man Standing" -- Ran for six seasons from 2011-2017 on ABC, then picked up by Fox for the 2018-2019 slate. It has since been renewed for Season 8 at Fox.
Fox
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As the Alvarez family moves to Pop TV, TheWrap rounds up more crews who have been saved
One man's trash is another man's treasure. OK, no show wants to be called "trash," but if it means you're getting picked up by another network or platform after cancellation at your original home, you probably won't mind it too much. And as "One Day at a Time" was picked up for a fourth season by Pop TV last week after being canceled by Netflix in March, TheWrap thought now was the perfect time to look back at all the shows that have made a comeback on a new platform. Click through our gallery to see some of the most famous cases.