by Sam H.
A decade has passed since Veep’s original release. Yet, the show remains shockingly relevant in American politics today. “The Choice” (season three, episode two), an episode that addresses the discussion of abortion rights in American politics, seems rather pertinent in the context of SCOTUS overturning Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Watching political figures in Veep argue about how many weeks they should say the abortion cut-off should be based on optimizing support for future elections feels like staring into a strange funhouse mirror. It’s a faintly distorted but recognizable reflection of reality considering that many Democrats have been voicing their support for abortion in hopes of garnering votes in the upcoming fall midterm elections.
Veep is also known for its Simpsons-like prescience. In Veep season five, which aired in 2016, a main plot point involved a vote recounting in Nevada, which actually happened in the 2020 elections. In season six, Jonah Ryan, a character who becomes a congressman, works on and helps successfully pass a bill to eliminate changing clocks because of daylight savings; in 2022, Congress passed a bill to make daylight savings time permanent. Veep’s eerie clairvoyance proves its timelessness, especially considering the constant turbulence of American politics.
The show, most importantly, demonstrates comedy’s ability to serve as cogent political commentary. Of course, the most well-known example of commentary that comments on politics is Saturday Night Live. However, for those who don’t enjoy SNL’s sketch format and prefer the more subtle wittiness of sitcoms, it can be harder to find comedy shows with consistent political, less strictly social, critique that doesn’t feel unnecessarily heavy-handed. One could argue that Parks and Recreation could count as political commentary since it discusses the trivialities of local politics, but next to Veep, it seems like a much more light-hearted take on the government.
Veep offers a realistically dark take on American politics while delicately balancing the fine line between drama and comedy. Combined with its commitment to a somewhat realistic portrayal of what happens in D.C., this balance elicits laughs while also offering the option to consider the deeper impact of political incompetence. In fact, one of the reasons Veep is so effective is that audiences see the dramatic consequences of the characters’ actions, which affect both the characters and Veep’s world.
Arguably, this seems less of the case in later seasons when the characters start making more outrageous decisions, though often outside the political sphere when Selina loses the presidential election in season five and everyone parts ways only to reconnect in season seven. In later seasons, Jonah Ryan morphs into a Trump-like character who receives minimal backlash and achieves success for making controversial and inflammatory statements, which seems rather out of character considering that in season four, Jonah is so concerned about his reputation affecting his ability to run for president in the future that he refuses to drive quickly because he claims that getting a speeding ticket will prevent him from a successful run for president.
However, for most of the earlier seasons, before the showrunner changed from Armando Iannucci to David Mandel between seasons four and five, the visibility of consequences holds true. Dan Egan, who started as the director of communications for Selina Meyer, the vice president at the beginning of the show, gets fired multiple times throughout the seasons for his incompetence. The most notable time is when he was made campaign manager of Selina’s Campaign and began making questionable decisions, such as hiring a fatphobic fitness trainer to prevent Selina from bonding with her ex-husband and serve as her temporary “chew toy.” This culminates in Dan having a panic attack over trying to control everything and getting sent to the hospital, where he learns that he’s been fired from his job. In season three, Jonah Ryan gets fired for leaking a vital piece of information. In reality, many politicians are able to make decisions and only face public criticism without substantial consequences (after all, Trump had been impeached twice but never removed despite much criticism), which is why when characters on Veep face the weight of their choices, the audience can consider what the situations on the show would look like in our political climate today.
As for examples of consequences of the characters’ actions, the one that comes to mind first is Selina’s promise to ban gay marriage in exchange for votes in the Democratic caucus and to the shock of her lesbian daughter. With the recent discussion of whether Obergefell v. Hodges, the court case that helped legalize gay marriage in the United States, will be overturned, let’s just hope that Veep doesn’t inadvertently predict the future again.