Page 4 - PROGRESS.3.16.19

4 March 31 - April 6, 2019 El Dorado News-Times cover story
By Joy Doonan
TV Media
Political satire is a beloved come- dic tradition, but it can be tricky to pull off successfully, let alone consistently for a long period of time. There are few television series that have achieved this, and most of those have been news or talk show programs — “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” spring to mind.
HBO’s “Veep” is one of the very few narrative comedy series that
has managed to mercilessly satirize politics over the course of numer- ous highly rated seasons. In fact, the comedy and several members of its cast have won multiple prestigious awards and nominations since its de- but in 2012, including Critics’ Choice Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards and several Emmys.
“Veep” follows fictional former U.S. senator Selina Meyer (Julia Louis- Dreyfus, “Seinfeld”), who has served asbothvice-presidentandpresident of the United States over the course of the show’s first six seasons. The series sharply mimics real-life petty political bureaucracy and manages to do so in a lighthearted, very watch- able way. After a long, successful
run, showrunners announced last year that the seventh season of this
beloved series would be the last. The Season 7 premiere of “Veep” airs Sunday, March 31, on HBO.
Last season saw Selina in transi- tion. Ousted from the presidency, she tried to acclimate to civilian life but failed miserably. She wrote a memoir, burned down a barn, almost had her own presidential library built and made some personal psychological breakthroughs, but ultimately she found herself pulled back towards politics. At the end of Season 6, Selina decided to run for president again, and Season 7 promises to be
a hilarious account of her attempt to regain the highest office in the land.
Selina’s entourage includes political advisers Dan (Reid Scott, “Venom,” 2018) and Amy (Anna Chlumsky, “My Girl,” 1991), syco- phantic personal aide Gary (Tony Hale, “Arrested Development”), White House liaison Jonah (Timo-
thy Simons, “Gold,” 2016) and the director of communications for the VP,Mike(MattWalsh,“Comedy Bang! Bang!”). The clashing group of strong, dysfunctional characters comes together as a perversely whimsical clan as they scramble to cover up one political or public image mess after another.
Impressively, the show’s writers have managed to stay fairly ambigu-
ous when it comes to labeling their characters politically and have stra- tegically avoided revealing Selina’s party affiliation. As Selina and her dedicated (and often bumbling) staff navigate their way through
the political landscape, they often commit missteps that result in PR nightmares. Usually, the resulting situations seem too outrageous to ever occur for real, but on several oc- casions, life seems to have gone out of its way to imitate art.
In Season 4, for example, Selina bungles a debate topic after for- getting one of the elements of her “Three Rs” (a nonsensical “reform, reaffirm and renew,” if you’re curi- ous). Later on, during a real-life de- bate, Republican governor and presi- dential hopeful Rick Perry forgot one of the three government agencies he planned to ax should he win the presidency, resulting in a similarly awkward scramble to come up with something to say. “Veep’s” eerily accuratecoincidentalforecastingof actual campaign slip-ups has earned it a reputation for being shrewdly in tune with the material it skewers.
The antics of the characters’ per- sonal lives is another comedic anchor of the show, as well as how those private issues often bleed into their jobs. Talking about his role as Selina’s cartoonishly loyal political aide, Hale told Stephen Colbert, “I do emascu-
lation really well,” and he described Gary as an insecure yes-man who “worships the ground Selina Meyer walks on.” This dynamic is comedy gold, given Selina’s penchant for self- absorption and insensitivity.
For the cast, starring in the series has been an exceptionally emotional journey. On the final day of shoot- ing the series, many of the
stars posted emotional
tweets about the show
and the family they
had found on the job.
Hale posted a selfie
in which he wears a
sweater with a heart
on it, with a caption
that read, “I can’t de-
scribe how blessed
and thankful I feel
for everyone here.
The sweater says
it best.” A seven-
season run is noth-
ing to sneeze at, and
many of the cast mem-
Anna Chlumsky in a scene from “Veep”
bers have been through a lot while working on the show. Louis-Dreyfus herself battled breast cancer, and the show went on hiatus in 2017 while she was in treatment. She fought hard and won that battle, and fans of the show will appreciate this final season all the more because of her strength
and courage.
Season 7 packs a
lot into its seven episodes, and
since the end of the line
came about organically (instead of by way of
a sudden cancellation),
fans can look
forward to a satisfying and, of course, hilarious
ending.You can watch the season
premiere when it airs Sunday, March 31, on
HBO.
Selina for president
‘Veep’ returns for a triumphant final season
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