WARNING! Major spoilers within; please read at your own risk.

Meet the Mars'

Veronica Mars - Veronica is an ex-cheerleader-turned-outcast after her ex-sheriff dad wrongfully accuses her best friend's father of her murder. She works as a private investigator alongside her dad, but also works cases for her classmates. Her biggest mystery is finding out who killed her best friend, Lilly Kane. --portrayed by Kristen Bell

Keith Mars - Veronica's dad. He held the position of sheriff until he wrongfully accused Lilly's father of her murder, casuing him to be ousted from the position, and thus, causing Veronica to become an outcast at school. He went on to open Mars Investigations, a private detective agency. --portrayed by Enrico Colantoni

Lianna Mars - Veronica's mom and Keith's wife. She dated Jake Kane in high school. Following the Lilly Kane scandal, she left town because she couldn't deal with all the negativity and drama. She later returns, wanting to fix her relationships with her husband and daughter. As part of this, she enters rehab for her drinking. Claiming she is sober, she moves back in with her family. Veronica discovers she failed to complete rehab and is still drinking. She tells her to get out, which Lianne does, but not before stealing a large sum of money from them. --portrayed by Corinne Bohrer

Meet the Fennel's

Wallace Fennel - Veronica's best friend. As the new student in school, he was duct-taped to a flagpole and laughed at by his peers. Veronica was the only one to cut him down, causing Wallace to befriend her. He often helps Veronica on her cases. He's considered the best basketball player at Neptune High. --portrayed by Percy Daggs III

Alicia Fennel - Wallace's mother; dates Keith for a period of time. --portrayed by Erica Gimpel

Meet the Echolls'

Logan Echolls - Veronica's on-again-off-again 09er boyfriend; Duncan's best friend. Logan was Lilly's boyfriend at the time of her murder. He is abused by his dad but has a loving relationship with his mom. His world completely shatters when he finds out his dad is the one who murdered Lilly, and again when his mom commits suicide. He is left everything in his mother's will. --portrayed by Jason Dohring

Trina Echolls - Logan's step-sister; the "prom baby" of 1980. --portrayed by Alyson Hannigan

Aaron Echolls - Logan's dad; Trina's adoptive father. Aaron is a huge movie star. Despite his Hollywood persona, he has a violent temper and cheats on his wife. He is known to beat Logan on occassion. He was having an affair with Lilly, and when she threatened to go public with it, he killed her. He is found not guilty, as Logan destroyed the tapes that could put him away. He is later shot and killed by Clarence Wiedman, on the orders of Duncan Kane. --portrayed by Harry Hamlin

Lynn Echolls - Logan's mom. She turned to alcohol and pills in an attempt to ignore the abuse doled out from her husband onto their son, Logan. She committed suicide after a scandal involving Aaron went public. --portrayed by Lisa Rinna

Meet the Kane's

Duncan Kane - Veronica's ex-boyfriend; Logan's best friend; part of the 09er crowd. He is known as a bit of a "golden boy," meaning that he is kind to almost everyone. When he found out that Veronica could be his half-sister, he broke up with her and refused to even acknowledge her, giving her zero reason for his actions. He was the one to discover Lilly dead, which sent him into a catatonic state. Believing he killed his sister, his parents began an elaborate cover-up in an effort to protect him. --portrayed by Teddy Dunn

Lilly Kane - Veronica's best friend. She had been dating Logan, but also had a relationship with Weevil and an affair with Aaron Echolls. When she threatened to go public with their affair, Aaron murdered her, then fled the scene. She often appears in flashbacks and in Veronica's dreams. --portrayed by Amanda Seyfried

Jake Kane - Duncan and Lilly's father. Jake is a software billionaire, owning his own company, Kane Software. He had a relationship with Veronica's mother in high school. He bribed Abel Koontz to confess to his daughter's murder. --portrayed by Kyle Secor

Celeste Kane - Duncan and Lilly's mother. She doesn't approve of her daughter's lifestyle and tends to blame their family's problems on Lilly. --portrayed by Lisa Thornhill

Meet the Casablancas'

Richard "Dick" Casablancas - Dick is good friends with Logan and frequently makes fun of his younger brother. He's a poor student and a heavy partier. He is also an 09er. --portrayed by Ryan Hansen

Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas - Sort of the "black sheep" of the Casablancas family, despite being an 09er. His father favors his older brother, who often torments him. He was sexually molested at a young age, causing him to have intimacy issues as a teenager. He blew up a bus, causing it to go over a cliff, killing those onboard. He also blew up the plane Veronica's dad was (supposed to be) on, before committing suicide. --portrayed by Kyle Gallner

Meet the Friends...

Eli "Weevil" Navarro - Weevil is the leader of the PCH bike gang. He has often spent time in juvenile facilities for minor infractions. He lives with his siblings and grandmother in a poor part of town. His grandmother works as a maid for the Echolls', which Weevil doesn't like. Despite his tough exterior, he has been known to possess a good heart. He also often helps Veronica. --portrayed by Francis Capra

Cindy "Mac" Mackenzie - A good friend of Veronica's and a computer whiz. She briefly dated Beaver. --portrayed by Tina Majorino

Meg Manning - A cheerleader and the only 09er (besides Logan and Duncan) to be civil and even friendly to Veronica. --portrayed by Alona Tal

...and Enemies

Madison Sinclair - Neptune High's "mean girl" to the core. She is Dick's ex-girlfriend and she is completely hostile to Veronica. --portrayed by Amanda Noret

Meet the Faculty

Van Clemmons - The principal at Neptune High. Veronica often finds herself in trouble and thus, sitting in his office. He also sometimes asks for her help. --portrayed by Duana Daniels

Mallory Dent - Veronica journalism teacher. --portrayed by Sydney Tamiia Poitier

Mrs. Murphy - Veronica's English teacher. --portrayed by Linda Castro

Meet the Law

Sheriff Don Lamb - Lamb was appointed sheriff after Keith was ousted from the position. He is rather arrogant and he and Veronica often butt heads. --portrayed by Michael Muhney

Deputy Sacks - Deputy Sacks is second-in-command under Lamb. He often disagrees with Lamb's tactics, but goes along with him, regardless. He remains friendly with Veronica and Keith. --portrayed by Brandon Hillock

Leo D'Amato - A deputy under sheriff Lamb. He and Veronica date for a short period of time. --portrayed by Max Greenfield

Meet Everyone Else

Abel Koontz - Abel Koontz was bribed with a large sum of money by Jake Kane to take the fall for Lilly's murder. At the time, Jake thought that Duncan had committed the crime and had blacked it out. Abel took the payoff as a means to support his daughter. He was later released from death row after he was proven to be innocent. --portrayed by Christian Clemenson

Cliff McCormack - Cliff is a public defender and often aides Veronica and Keith in their investigaions. --portrayed by Daran Norris

Clarence Wiedman - The head of security at Kane Software. --portrayed by Christopher B. Duncan