10 Smartest TV Detectives

To be a good private detective, a certain world weariness is vital, and if you’re handy with a cynical quip, that’s useful, too. Veronica Mars, the high school sleuth perfectly played by Kristen Bell, has all that in her locker by 17 years of age.

For a show with a substantial teenage fanbase, Veronica Mars goes to some dark places, with stories and arcs about rape, murder, suicide, and child abuse. The titular character is too young to be dealing with such matters (even if she is getting paid by her PI father), but Veronica cuts an impressive figure throughout the show.

The series saw Veronica dig around in the dirt of Neptune, California, uncovering secrets around her high school and in the town itself. In the classic noir mould, everyone has an angle, and there are few if any clean pairs of hands.

The character has been revived twice since the series ended in 2007, as a feature film and a fourth season. There’s plenty of life in Veronica Mars yet - perhaps the character will be able to age into her hard boiled outlook.