Mac, trusty sidekick of everyone’s favorite teen detective Veronica Mars, was really the brains of the operation. Yes, Veronica did the sleuthing, but without Mac’s computer skills they would have been sunk. Like, a lot. Mac is played by the often overlooked Tina Majorino, who has contributed to so many important pieces of pop culture yet remains under the radar. After years as a child star with c0-stars ranging from Whoopi Goldberg to Kevin Costner, Majorino appeared in Napolean Dynamite, and has done arcs on Big Love, True Blood, and Grey’s Anatomy. But it’s her turn as Mac that made her one of the teen TV icons, joining the ranks of Willow Rosenberg as the slightly geeky girls who are actually smarter than even the leader.
But what’s more impressive about Mac’s character is her resilience in the face of some really, really awful incidents (something that happens to teens a lot in the Veronica Mars universe). After her prom date bolts only to go try to kill her best friend (before jumping to his death himself) she gets back into dating and crime fighting in college. And as a super sophisticated adult (with a seriously fierce haircut) she has a high-powered job actually making serious money with her techie skills. So three cheers for Mac, she’s definitely a queen of the small screen.
