Veep (HBO) - Series Premiere: Review
On the 22nd of April the new comedy series ‘Veep’ premiered on HBO. Julia Louis-Dreyfus (‘The New Adventures of Old Christine’) stars as Selina Meyer, the Vice President. The series revolves around Meyer and the people she works with and has to deal with on a daily basis. One of those people is the Chief of Staff, Amy Brookheimer, portrayed by Anna Chlumsky, who also played a role in ‘In the Loop’. The latter is a spin-off movie of what is known to be the British version of ‘Veep’. Other members of the cast include, but are not limited to: Tony Hale (‘Arrested Development) and Matt Walsh (‘Outsourced’).
‘Veep’ immediately starts off strong; it begins with a few jokes that everyone understands, regardless of whether you know the characters or not. Great way to start and attract the attention of the audience. The most appealing part of this show is that it is set in a U.S. Vice President’s office. In a setting like this, one might expect professional people who have everything under control. However, they are a bunch of people who don’t really seem to know what is going on and definitely don’t have everything under control. This unexpected combination leads to surprisingly funny situations.
After eyeing the very first trailer of ‘Veep’, I wasn’t very enthusiastic. I had no idea what type of show it was going to be; the trailer had a very typical drama-look, but ‘Veep’ was stated to be a comedy show. Only a few days before the premiere a better trailer was released which gave me a bit of hope. The trailer was pretty funny, although it was very unclear what the show was really about. Yes, it revolves around Meyer, but what’s her story? Actually, I still don’t know. The show doesn’t really seem to have a story. It is just a full half hour of continuous (rather good) jokes set in the life of a VP, or veep.
So, should you watch ‘Veep’? Yes, you should really give it a try, the show is enjoyable to watch. It might not really have a story, a purpose, but it’s good TV. You don’t have to watch every episode to understand the jokes and therefore enjoy the show. If you have the night off, watch it, but don’t clear your calendar for this show.
