With Kamala Harris the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, satirical political series Veep is on people’s minds in a very big way. It makes a twisted sort of sense, even though Harris is infinitely more qualified than the fictional Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) ever was.
Veep aired on HBO from April 22, 2012 to May 12, 2019. Spanning seven seasons, the show followed Meyer as she tried to navigate the Washington, D.C. minefield as Vice President of the United States and, later, as the first female President.
Veep was created by Armando Iannucci and adapted from his BBC comedy The Thick of It, which also detailed the day-to-day political battles, interpersonal crises, and constant fire drills that come with “public service” at the highest level. Veep won numerous awards, including three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series. Louis-Dreyfus also won six consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for her portrayal of the power-hungry and often insufferable Meyer.
If you’re just getting started, rest assured you don’t have to watch the entire series in order. Once you know the characters, jumping around is easy, so here are our ten favorite episodes to get you started.
10. “Election Night” (Season 4, episode 10)
Air date: June 14, 2015
The fourth season finale was a huge hit and earned writers Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, and Tony Roche, as well as director Chris Addison, Primetime Emmy Awards. “Election Night” follows Selina, who is president at this point in the series, sitting in a hotel room watching the returns come in on CNN during election night. Her faithful staff is by her side, and deals are being struck left, right, and center. It’s a tense yet perfectly paced episode, and it highlights all of the things we love most about each character.
9. “New Hampshire” (Season 3, Episode 10)
Air date: June 8, 2014
In the season 3 finale, “New Hampshire,” Selina is sworn in as President of the United States in a back room of the White House. She’s giddy about the new job, but the reality of the work ahead hits her quickly, especially when she doesn’t win New Hampshire’s primary, as she expected. She appears out of her element immediately, and when Ben brings up the fact that she now has access to the nuclear launch codes, we all cringe a bit inside.
8. “Convention” (Season 4, episode 5)
Air date: May 10, 2015
Mid-season episode “Convention” starts off innocuously enough: Selina is searching for a new running mate after the last guy walked out in a huff over a data breach. But halfway through, Amy (Anna Chlumsky) reaches the end of her rope, and her fiery eruption is more exciting (and American) to viewers than fourth of July fireworks.
“I have bitten my tongue so long it looks like a dog’s cushion, but no more,” Amy rants. “You have made it impossible to do this job. You have two settings: No decision, and bad decision. I wouldn’t let you run a bath without having the Coast Guard and the fire department standing by. But yet here you are, running America. You are the worst thing to happen to this country since food in buckets. And maybe slavery. I’ve had enough. I’m gone.”
Amy, girl, I’m with you. She lasted much longer than I would have!
7. “Mother” (Season 5, Episode 4)
Air date: May 15, 2016
“Mother” is the perfect combination of satire and emotion. Selina’s emotions swing from one end of the spectrum to the other, from giddy joy to devastation, all in the span of 30 minutes. Excited by the news that she’s leading in the Nevada recount, Selina shows up to her mother’s death bed overcome by joy. Hugging her daughter Catherine, she can’t contain her giggles, which is so inappropriate that you might start to wonder if she actually is heartless. If it weren’t for Louis-Dreyfus’s subtle acting (that hand pat!), we’d believe that Selina is irredeemable.
Later, at the funeral, Selina receives news that she lost Nevada, and you honestly can’t tell if she’s weeping for her loss … or her mother. This episode gives us a glimpse at the political maneuverings we imagine happen every day, including whether the death of a family member is worth it for the “death bump.”
6. “Fundraiser” (Season 1, Episode 1)
Air date: April 22, 2012
“Fundraiser” is the very first episode, and we learn so much that it’s worth a rewatch! Here, we’re introduced to Selina and her staff, and we get our first look at how quickly decisions are made and how personal those decisions really are. In this episode, Selina has three problems, all of which she caused herself, to juggle. She has ticked off the plastics industry by suggesting biodegradable utensils in government offices. She screws up a sympathy card for a much-hated member of the Senate, and worst yet, she drops the “r” word while talking about an incompetent staff member. Oof!
5. “Camp David” (Season 5, Episode 8)
Air date: June 12, 2016
Selina, now the President, invites Catherine and Marjorie (her former Secret Service agent-turned girlfriend) to the titular Camp David for Christmas, but she’s secretly working out a deal with the Chinese government to clinch the election for her. As she vacillates between family time and working her corrupt deal on the side, she also has to cope with the duly hated Jonah Ryan (Timothy Simons) running for Congress. When Jonah—who once shot himself in the foot, if you recall—gets help from the NRA to win, we see the absurdity of the situation through a crystal-clear lens. If you like it when Selina hurls insults at Jonah (and who doesn’t?), this is the episode for you.
4. “Chicklet” (Season 6, episode 5)
Air date: May 14, 2017
We love an episode that provides insight into what makes narcissist Selina Meyer tick, and “Chicklet” does just that. Here, we learn a lot about Selina’s father, a constant cheater who called her “squirrel” and gave her a horse called Chicklet. Viewers learn a bit more about why she is the way she is: the constant gaslighting and conflict she inspires in her staff, the distant relationship she has with her daughter, the reason she puts up with Mike (Matt Walsh), the “most unf—ble” press secretary she could find.
There’s also a bit about her Madame Tussaud’s wax museum sculpture that is *chef’s kiss.* Seinfeld fans will be pleasantly reminded of the episode in which Elaine (Louis Dreyfus) spots a mannequin in a shop window that looks like her twin.
3. “Kissing Your Sister” (Season 5, episode 9)
Air date: June 19, 2016
“Kissing Your Sister” gives audiences all of the best things we love about the show, from the biting commentary to the snappy one-liners, but it’s told from a very different perspective. Catherine, who has been working on a documentary since episode one, takes the reins here, and we get to see everything through her eyes for a change. It’s a fun and different experience, and one that shouldn’t be missed.
2. “Testimony” (Season 4, episode 9)
Air date: June 7, 2015
The election hangs in the balance, and Selina decides to fire White House communications director Bill Ericsson (Diedrich Bader). Her Families First bill also winds up on the trash heap, and Selina is faced with going head-to-head against her nemesis, Jonah, for the first (but not last) time.
The best thing about “Testimony” is the witty one-liners, of which there are plenty. The writing for this episode is so smart and biting that it’s hard to keep up, which is why it’s worth repeated viewings!
1. “Veep” (Season 7, episode 7)
Air date: May 12, 2019
David Mandel wrote the final episode of Veep, which circled back to original creator Armando Iannucci’s goal of exposing our political system as the backbiting cesspool it truly is. This episode finds Selina struggling to get delegates on her side, in spite of the Chinese government’s offer to rig the election on her behalf. She finds herself asking the hateful “Hep-C Kevin McHale” Jonah (Timothy Simons) to be her new VP, and soon she’s pulling every string in the book—and throwing everyone around her under the bus.
In between promising to permanently outlaw gay marriage and destroying Tom James’ (Hugh Laurie) career, she breaks longtime right-hand-man Gary’s (Gary Walsh) heart in a betrayal that still smarts, years later. In the end, all of the nasty political maneuvering was for naught. Years in the future, Selina is dead, and the new, beloved sitting president is none other than that brilliant idiot, Richard Splett (Sam Richardson).
All episodes of Veep are currently streaming on Max.
Published: Jul 29, 2024 02:31 pm