The victory lap—or final parade of indignities—for Veep, HBOs wonderfully caustic political satire, begins on Sunday night (March 31), marking the end of an Emmy-bedecked run that straddled two very different American presidential administrations. When the series, created by British wit Armando Iannucci, premiered in 2012, we were in the middle of the Obama years, frustrated but still clinging to some tarnished idea of hope. Now were stuck in a nightmare, Washington seized by a particularly nasty culture of unrepentant venality and frequent cruelty. Of course, many would argue—and perhaps Veep would agree,—that that culture has always existed; its only now been laid so starkly bare.
Which is a boon, in a way, for the show. Sure, Veep is a series that has never been terribly concerned with policy; its much more interested in the mechanics of campaigning and favor trading and petty vengeance. But were maybe more aware now of what all that inside baseball—the cravenness, the careerism—actually does to the country. Veep finds a particular bite in the Trump years. Its disgust with D.C. process seems even more apt, more necessary. The show has lost some of its sense of surprise; weve now had a long time to get used to the blue torrent of Selina Meyer (the flat-out brilliant Julia Louis-Dreyfus), vice president–turned president–turned desperate politician banging on the door to be let back in. And yet its still bracingly entertaining and satisfying to see Washington torn to such nasty shreds.
The series remains oddly amiable, despite all that. Were kinda sorta rooting for Selina, I guess—but its really more that we vibe off of the casts rip-roaring rapport, a troupe of brilliant actors grooving together like few other ensembles on television. (The Good Fight crew are very worthy competitors.) Its a kind of meta-competency porn, the thrill of watching people be so good at the job of playing people so bad at theirs. Ive seen three episodes of the final season, and each is a pleasure. I didnt always laugh out loud at Team Meyers various misadventure, though I did often enough—and I consistently found myself almost nodding along to its rhythm. Ill miss Veeps prickly patter when its gone, but I appreciate that, like Louis-Dreyfuss Seinfeld before it, the show aims to quit while its ahead.
There is also undeniably something comforting about the shows other-worldness. Yes, there are many bad people on the series, but since they exist in a vacuum of their own clawing vanity, the stakes are reduced to a dark joke. Its an escapist thing, in a way, to watch Veep and laugh at the fatal absurdity of it all, rather than recoiling in horror and despair. Weve never been told whether Selina is a Democrat or a Republican, but this new season, with its presidential campaign trajectory, feels reflective in some ways of the current scramble among current Democratic hopefuls. Its fun to imagine the dark scheming happening behind those scenes; maybe all that petty warfare will result in something profound.
On occasion, or on one particularly clanging occasion, the show takes a misstep into fustiness that is in discord with its otherwise finger-on-the-pulse, timely sensibility. The one moment Im thinking of involves Selina slamming a young candidate, a woman of color, for not being grateful for the things people like Selina pioneered their way into, thus making possible for others. Its a bit of sour generationalism that appeals to the worst sort of sentiments about, say, Hillary Clintons loss—that she was denied her due partly by younger people who were not sufficiently deferential to her establishment message. Chiding young people—especially ones from underrepresented groups—for asking for too much and not respecting How Things Are Done has become a tired trope for both the left and right, and its disappointing to see Veep fall into it. Its worse still to watch the show treat it as a sort of righteous moment for Selina. Lets hope theres not more of that as the season progresses.
Im feeling confident, though, that Veep will mostly stay on the right track as it concludes its journey. A campaign is a perfect framework for the show to play around in, and individual characters are given storylines that have just the right amount of personal context to make us invested in where they wind up. (Particularly for Selinas long-suffering, and now pregnant, aide Amy, played piquantly as ever by Anna Chlumsky.) Theyre probably not heading anywhere good; even if Selina wins, past seasons have shown us the misery of holding office is just as bad as the struggle to obtain it. Still, there might be something of a grace note lying in wait, some wisp of wistfulness as a series about politics says goodbye and leaves us alone with the real thing. What a mean Read More – Source
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