Kamala Harris’ Arc This Week Is Inspiring Everyone To Do the Same TV Show Rewatch
Vice President Kamala Harris rocked the 2024 political stratosphere earlier this week by becoming the de facto democratic nominee for president. At the same time, Veep, the political satire starring Seinfeld actor Julia Louis-Dreyfus, saw a hefty spike in viewership.
As reported by The Hill (with data gathered by Luminate), Veep viewership on HBO increased by 353 percent on July 22, 2024, when compared to the previous Monday. There was also a stark increase in minutes watched from Sunday to Monday, coinciding with President Joe Biden’s reelection withdrawal and endorsement of Harris. Viewership for season 1 remained steady on Tuesday, proving people are continuing their Veep binge-watches.
Debuting in 2012, Veep poked and prodded at American politics while following the comedically incompetent Selina Meyer (Dreyfus), the first female vice president and later president of the United States. It ran for seven seasons during two different real-life presidencies and earned multiple Emmy nominations and wins.
With Harris being the first female vice president of the United States, similarities between her and Selina Meyer have been around for her whole term, but over the last week, they’ve erupted across the internet.
Not all the comparisons have been favorable, though, and have even attracted the attention of Veep showrunner David Mandel, who told The Hollywood Reporter that he both hates and loves the memes.
There are people really enjoying Selina’s moment of telling her staff that she’s running for president; there’s a joy there that’s fun and nice and celebratory. And then there are assholes who are using it differently. Surprise surprise, Kamala is a woman of color, and it seems like those people are using it as a simple way of insulting her. So I don’t like that part.
What have been dubbed Harris’ “Kamalaisms” make up the bulk of the Veep memes and discourse. A quick search on social media reveals countless side-by-side or alternating speeches performed by Harris and Meyer. Harris’ public speaking skills have been a point of contention for some time, with criticism coming from both sides of the political divide. However, there are also plenty of people who champion her distinctive speaking style, and all the memes that come with it.
Harris herself confirmed she is a fan of both Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Veep. While discussing the series with Stephen Colbert, Harris even said, “There are bits of [Veep] that are actually quite accurate.” As to whether she appreciates the recent waves of Veep comparison memes, the vice president has yet to comment.
To quote Oscar Wilde, “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life,” and that certainly seems to be the case here. With the first female vice president looking at a potential presidential term, it’s not surprising audiences are returning to Veep or discovering it for the first time. The series is perhaps more relevant than it has ever been, and viewers are eagerly searching for all the parallels—whether good, bad, or something in between.
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