The first season of Veronica Mars, an American drama television series created by Rob Thomas, premiered on UPN in the United States on September 22, 2004.

[1] The season revolves around Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell), a high school student and private investigator in the fictional Southern California seaside town of Neptune.

Out of all regular primetime programming that aired during the 2004–2005 American television season, Veronica Mars ranked #148 out of 156, according to the Nielsen ratings system.

Enrico Colantoni plays Veronica's father Keith Mars, a private investigator and former Balboa County Sheriff.

As Veronica delves deeper into the murder, she also works on other investigations, seeks her mother's whereabouts and deals with the aftermath of being drugged and raped during an 09er party.

Using her friends' resources, as well as those provided by her father and his contacts, Veronica gains a reputation for sleuthing and finds her skills in increasingly high demand at her school.

The website's critics consensus reads, "Veronica Mars is geared towards teens, but its sharp writing, excellent acting and thoughtful subject matter make for an entertaining and attractive drama for TV fans of all ages".

[31] Metacritic gave the season a score—a weighted average based on the impressions of a select fifteen critical reviews—of 81, signifying "universal acclaim".

He praised Bell as "a captivating star," and said that the series "uses its pulp premise to dramatize a universal teen experience: that growing up means sleuthing out the mystery of who you really are.

"[33] Kay McFadden of The Seattle Times called Veronica Mars an update to the "classic California film noir".

"[34] James South of Paste praised the "crisp, clever writing", and noted the supporting characters were more than just plot devices.

He commended Bell's portrayal of Veronica as "simultaneously smart, vulnerable, tough and injured", and found the guest stars were well-utilized.

[36] Robert Abele of LA Weekly said that "in this smart, engaging series about a former popular girl turned crime-solving high school outcast, the hard-boiled dialogue comes from its teen protagonist's mouth in a way that stabs any potential cutesiness in the heart with an ice pick.

[54] Ben Fritz of Variety criticized the DVD for a lack of special features, but noted that the producers were forced to release the set early to attract more viewers.

Fritz believed that Warner Bros. owed fans a better DVD set "chock full of commentaries, interviews and deleted scenes in context".