Do You Watch Veep?

I’ve been on a Veep kick over the last week or so.

If you’re not familiar with Veep, it’s a half-hour HBO comedy staring Julia Louis-Dreyfuss. She plays a character who is kind of similar to her Seinfeld counterpart, except that she curses a lot more and lives near the White House as the vice president of the United States.

I think Veep is the first political show that I’ve ever enjoyed, and it’s a somewhat morbid enjoyment, because everyone treats everyone else terribly. It’s like the opposite of Parks and Rec. The sheer number of insults, cussing, and talking behind peoples’ backs is incredible. I hope our government isn’t actually like that.

Despite that, it manages to be quite funny. Louis-Dreyfuss does a great job, but the supporting staff–particularly Tony Hale (who plays a role similar to his character Buster from Arrested Development)–is quite funny as well. The screenshot I took of him conveys how great his facial expressions are.

I’ve also found that I like the show–and others like it–because amidst all the comedy, there’s always an ongoing plot that makes me eager to watch the next episode. Despite how terrible most of the people are, I care about them, and I want to know what happens to them next.

Have you watched Veep? What do you think?

9 thoughts on “Do You Watch Veep?”

  1. Love Veep, If you like it you would probably like “The Thick of It” and its movie “in the Loop”, its another political comedy, but set on a government minister staring Peter Capaldi., also Anna Chlumsky is in it, who plays Amy on Veep.

    I think the other good thing about VEEP is that the seasons are short, so they don’t have much plot filler, they focus on an overall story, Along with that the delivery of everything is so dead on.

    Reply
    • Should have probably added that In the thick of it was created by the same person, has ended, and Veep is basically a sequel/Americanised version of it.

      Reply
      • I was going to ask how it compared to The Thick of It, heh. (The other political comedy show I’ve enjoyed is Yes, [Prime] Minister, though that’s a very different style of comedy)

        Reply
  2. It’s at the top of my list to watch! Glad to hear yet another ringing endorsement. As far as other political shows, I forget – do you like House of Cards or West Wing?

    Reply
      • Yes! Completely different but both are great. House of Cards is a dark drama about power and control, West Wing is a drama with humor and a lot of heart, more about people and relationships than policy.

        Reply
  3. Omg, I love Veep. I just plowed through all the seasons last month, from the beginning. The comedy is smart and hilarious, especially the insults against Jonah (who I hated at the beginning but now never ceases to amuse me). My favorite insult against him is, “you sentient enema!” They’re all so terrible but so entertaining. It’s like being unable to keep your eyes off of a trainwreck.

    Reply
    • Jonah makes me laugh the hardest too! There’s a scene in the last season (or maybe season 5 where he says something completely inappropriate in a kindergarten classroom, and I lost it. I could not stop laughing.

      Reply

Leave a Reply to EmmaCancel reply

Discover more from jameystegmaier.com

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue Reading