How I went from being the biggest Veronica Mars fan to working for the creators of the show – and how to deal when you’re working for people you admire.
There’s a scene in a 2005 episode of Veronica Mars where the titular character uses her infamous wit to defend a nerdy classmate from a bully’s attack. Now, I know we’ve all seen this a million times: The hero is supposed to help the helpless. But then, and that’s the part that stuck with me, Veronica turns to the pigtailed high school weirdo and says: “You want people to leave you alone, or better yet treat you with respect? Demand it. Make them.”
If you haven’t heard about the cult classic that is Veronica Mars (either from the time it aired on TV from 2004-2007; or from their massively successful kick-starter movie campaign) let me tell you right away: You’re missing out. Veronica (iconically played by Kristen Bell) was a high school student who spent her free time solving crimes in a class-divided Californian town. She was the epitome of spunky, super witty and generally badass.
Back then, I had no idea that creating a character like Veronica could be an actual job. Television heroes sprung from the TV gods and eventually landed on my screen. But soon enough, I realized that the Buffys, the Rory Gilmores and the Veronica Marses actually stemmed from some equally spunky writers.
And so I stumbled upon the journey of becoming the elusive entity known as a television writer. A script I wrote in school, largely inspired by Veronica and her adventures, ended up in the hands of a professor who’d worked with one of the producers of the show. One thing led to another, and suddenly I was hired to work for the team on their new television series iZombie.
Going from ultimate fan to working for the people who made it all happen was the same kind of rush you’d get from eating a giant wad of cotton candy then hopping on a rollercoaster (Is “wad” the right term? Seems oddly inappropriate). It’s sweet, exciting, and hella fun… until your heart sinks to your stomach and you realize you’re 200 feet above ground and have no idea what’s about to happen.
My first day at work, I got to meet the man behind the show, Rob Thomas. Rob is a tall man who wears pop-culture referencing t-shirts and is as fast and witty as you’d expect the creator of Veronica to be. Hailing from Austin, TX, he started his career as a high school teacher (Many of the people who work on his shows were his students back in the day). The co-creator of iZombie, the unbelievably amazing Diane Ruggiero-Wright, put me immediately at ease with her wicked sense of humor. I get to work directly for Diane, and it’s been the most incredible time. I like to say she’s my Italian Mama.
It was a shock to be introduced to people whose names I’d read over and over on screen (I know what some of you marshmallows may be thinking, and yes, Rob does get the Matchbox 20 thing a lot), and it took a long time to get over that. When you’re starting out, it seems as though you’re miles away from the people who’ve actually achieved any success. I put them so high up on a pedestal, I thought I’d never be able to impress them.
The first few months of work were mostly silent on my part. For some reason, anytime someone I admired asked for my opinion, it was like the Sahara desert in my brain. I just couldn’t think of a single thing to say. I’m a normally competent human (I think) and yet the pressure of not sucking was way too huge. Mostly, I’d just smile and nod. That was the extent of my socialization.
I think the key to working with people you admire is to not pay too much attention to the barrier that differentiates you. Instead, focus on what made you admire them in the first place, because that’s what you have in common. What they did is what you’d love to do, meaning you share those goals and aspirations. Rob, Diane and their team are geniuses with pop culture references and witty dialogue, so I tried leading with that. One of my best days at work was the first time I made Rob Thomas chuckle, which was after some reference to Jennifer Lawrence at the Oscars (thanks, J-Law, for this and so many other moments of awesomeness). Another trick is to ask people for advice. People love being loved, so it’s nice to take a moment and ask how they accomplished all these amazing things. I’m not saying go all Kathy Bates in Misery, but showing you care is always a great way to get noticed.
And, slowly but surely, you get to make your way into the inner circle. It isn’t about trying to imitate them, but about finding your place within that world. And in times of doubt, it’s good to remember that they chose you to be there in the first place, so you deserve your spot in the limelight (or, you know, limelight-adjacent).
Last summer, I got to help out as the crew was shooting the Veronica Mars spinoff, Play it Again, Dick, which focuses on Ryan Hansen’s scene stealing Dick Casablancas as he tries to film his own television show. At the wrap party for the series, the cast and crew all went out for bowling and karaoke, which was the most amazing thing for a fan like me. Little by little, it felt like I’d started to make a place in this world of people I’d grown up admiring. And there’s something to be said about that. As I posed for a photo with Veronica’s boyfriend Logan (aka Jason Dohring) and Dick Casablancas himself (yeah, I went for the cute boys, sue me!) I could hear my fourteen-year-old-self swooning. Trust me, nothing tops the moment when the people you admire turn into the people you can count on.
At the Play it Again, Dick wrap party sandwiched between Jason Dohring, iZombie script coordinator Callie Tresser, and Ryan Hansen.