"Veronica Mars" Readies Mac Attack... and Season Three?

Veronica Mars fans waiting to solve the mystery about the fate of their favorite show may have received a clue today when creator Rob Thomas answered some fan questions over at TVGuide.com.

I've been (repeatedly) asking Rob Thomas to make Mac (Tina Majorino) a full-time cast member for a while now and it seems one of the TV showrunner gods was listening to my (constant) prayers. Among other tidbits, Thomas revealed to TV Guide that the show is in negotiations with Majorino to bring her back next season as part of the regular cast, but that the producers haven't decided whether Majorino's character Mac will be Veronica's roomie next season when they attend Neptune's (fictional) Hearst College.

Read below for an excerpt from the Rob Thomas interview on TVGuide.com:

Question: Is Mac going to be a regular for Season 3? Is she going to Hearst? Will she and Veronica be roommates there? - Lisa

Thomas: We hope that Tina Majorino will be back with us next year. We're trying to negotiate a deal to bring her on as a series regular. We absolutely want her. As for the roommate/college situation, we're still figuring that out.

Question: It seems pretty obvious that Veronica will be at Hearst College next year and the serial rapist story line will also show up again. Can you give us some other clues about what to look forward to next season? - Jessica

Thomas: The biggest news is that we will be going to a three mystery-per-season format next year. This way, the mysteries will play uninterrupted by repeats or preemptions. We're hoping this will help us cast guest stars in smaller arcs, allow newbies to jump in easier, and lessen the too-much-going-on complaint we heard in Season 2.
While I am not sure I like the new three mysteries-per-season idea (I love the show's twisty, interconnected mystery plots the way they are), I understand that it might make Veronica Mars way more accessible to new viewers and make the wait between new episodes a little more bearable if each mystery was wrapped up before the next batch of episodes.

From what I can tell, however, it was this notion of creating three separate mysteries for Season Three that may have secured the show a place on the CW's fall schedule. A well-placed CW contact has told me that network prez Dawn Ostroff loved Rob Thomas' outline for the third season of Veronica. Add to that the fact that the show's producers are actively negotiating with Majorino AND that Ostroff is actively selecting shows with ethnically diverse casts that would attract diverse audiences and it seems like Veronica might have a home next season after all...

It doesn't take a sleuth to deduct an outcome like that.