Veep

The series follows the personal life and political career of Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), Vice President and, later, President of the United States. Her party affiliation is never discussed. Formerly a United States senator from Maryland, Meyer campaigns for her party's nomination in the 2012 presidential election and is initially the front-runner, but ultimately loses the nomination to Stuart Hughes. Meyer subsequently joins the Hughes ticket as his running mate and is elected vice president. Her staff as vice president, upon whom Meyer is almost totally reliant, includes chief of staff Amy Brookheimer (Anna Chlumsky), director of communications Mike McLintock (Matt Walsh), deputy director of communications Dan Egan (Reid Scott), body man Gary Walsh (Tony Hale), and personal secretary Sue Wilson (Sufe Bradshaw). Later additions to her team as president include White House Chief of Staff Ben Cafferty (Kevin Dunn) and political strategist Kent Davison (Gary Cole). Jonah Ryan (Timothy Simons), initially a White House liaison to the vice president's office and later a New Hampshire congressman, also features prominently.

Meyer frequently finds herself relegated and ignored by Hughes, who is never depicted on-screen at the outset of the series. In the second season, Meyer comes to accrue some power and influence and, by the end of the season, is actively considering challenging Hughes for their party's nomination in the 2016 election. This becomes a moot point when Hughes abruptly resigns due to his wife's poor mental health and Meyer becomes president. Meyer begins her presidential campaign at the end of the third season. The fourth season finds her adjusting to her new role while continuing her presidential campaign, both of which are undermined by a series of scandals. The election results in a tie between Meyer and challenger Bill O'Brien (Brad Leland), leading to a contingent election in the House of Representatives during the fifth season to decide the next president after a recount in Nevada fails to alter the election's outcome. The House vote ends in a tie, meaning that when the Senate votes to elect the vice president the winner will be the next president. The Senate vote also ends in a tie; Meyer's disgruntled Vice President Andrew Doyle (Phil Reeves), who did not run for a full term, casts the tiebreaking vote for O'Brien's running mate Laura Montez (Andrea Savage) instead of Meyer's running mate Tom James (Hugh Laurie), leading to Montez becoming president. The sixth season follows Meyer out of office for the first time in the series, as she attempts to ensure her legacy by authoring a memoir, setting up a foundation and attempting to establish a presidential library. At the end of the season, Meyer decides to run for president again. The seventh season sees Meyer attempting to run for president once again in the 2020 election, featuring her former political rivals Ryan and James as major competitors, in addition to introducing the young, likable, and progressive challenger Kemi Talbot (Toks Olagundoye).

The series also explores Meyer's personal life, such as her strained relationships with her daughter Catherine (Sarah Sutherland), ex-husband Andrew (David Pasquesi), and several significant others. The lives, careers, and relationships of the other characters are also explored, frequently intersecting with the series' principal narrative, satirizing the political activities and inner workings of the contemporary U.S. government.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who portrays Selina Meyer

Tony Hale, who portrays Gary Walsh

Reid Scott, who portrays Dan Egan

Timothy Simons, who portrays Jonah Ryan

Matt Walsh, who portrays Mike McLintock

Sufe Bradshaw, who portrays Sue Wilson

• Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer (née Eaton):[4] Born Selina Catherine Eaton, a former U.S. Senator from Maryland who, in the start of the series, is the titular Vice President, or "Veep." She has a strained relationship with the President. After the president declines to run for a second term, she begins campaigning for the presidency in Season 3. At the end of Season 3, she becomes president when he resigns for personal issues. Due to a complex manipulation of constitutional law, she loses the presidential race in Season 5. After trying to decide what her post-presidential legacy should be during Season 6, she decides to run for another term as President by Season 7. She is divorced with one daughter, but remains romantically entangled with her ex-husband during the first two seasons and the sixth. She seems to display little or no maternal instinct towards her daughter. Louis-Dreyfus has received widespread critical acclaim for her performance, winning a record-breaking six Primetime Emmy Awards[5] and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and receiving five consecutive Golden Globe nominations.
• Anna Chlumsky as Amy Brookheimer:[6] the Vice President's Chief of Staff. She credits herself as the vice president's "trouble-shooter, problem-solver, issue-mediator, doubt-remover, conscience-examiner, thought-thinker and all-round everything-doer". Amy is constantly sacrificing her own reputation to save Selina's political credibility. She is known to be uptight and overly dedicated to her career, unwilling to settle down and have children, much to the dismay of her family. She has romantic history with Dan, and may still have feelings for him. She has a few different boyfriends throughout the series, including a fundraiser for Selina and a Nevada politician. Amy becomes Selina's campaign manager during her presidential run, but resigns as a result of the brief appointment of an equivocating, yet omnipresent, old friend of Selina's to the campaign team. She rejoins the Meyer team when a tie in the general election leads to a statewide recount in Nevada. At the end of season 6 it is revealed that after a one-night stand with Dan, she is pregnant with his child. However, she gets an abortion in Season 7, mainly due to Dan's inability to settle down. In season 7, Amy leaves Selina's team to join Jonah's presidential campaign, becoming his campaign manager and encouraging his unorthodox demeanor and presentation of conspiracy theories as fact. Chlumsky previously portrayed a similar character, Liza Weld, in Iannucci's 2009 film, In the Loop. She received six consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her performance.
• Tony Hale as Gary Walsh:[7] Selina's personal aide and body man. A long-term associate and confidant of Selina, Gary is portrayed as incredibly loyal and devoted. Despite his menial job, Gary is actually a graduate of Cornell University, having majored in hotel management. In the fourth and fifth seasons, Gary is portrayed as having issues adapting to Selina's presidency, since he can no longer be as close to her as previously, due to lack of security clearance. When Selina fails to win reelection, he stays on as her personal aide. Hale describes Gary's loyalty to Selina stemming from the idea that the character "is one of those guys who never really had an identity. He attached himself to people to find who he was."[8] Hale received two Primetime Emmy Awards for his performance on the series, with four further nominations.
• Reid Scott as Dan Egan:[9] the deputy director of communications in the Vice President's Office. Dan is a highly ambitious, cutthroat up-and-comer in D.C. who takes pride in his contacts and networking skills. He has dated the daughters of influential politicians to get ahead in his career. He often butts heads with Amy, whom he previously dated (and it is suggested he may still have feelings for her). He has a brief stint as Selina's campaign manager for her presidential campaign but is fired from that position after having a nervous breakdown following several crises. He resumes his post in Communications but is fired as a scapegoat amid a data-theft scandal. After briefly working unsuccessfully as a lobbyist and as a CNN analyst, he returns to the campaign staff, as a senior campaign official. When Selina fails to win reelection, Dan goes to work as a lead anchor on CBS This Morning. In Season 7, he joins Selina's new reelection campaign.
• Timothy Simons as Jonah Ryan:[10] the White House liaison to Vice President Meyer's office. He constantly clashes with most members of the Veep's office, particularly Amy. Everyone he encounters dislikes him, even foreign politicians. In the third season, he is temporarily fired from the White House for running a blog disclosing insider information, leading him to create his own news website, Ryantology. In season four, he works again as a liaison, this time between President Meyer and Vice President Doyle. He later works for the Meyer general election campaign, until a New Hampshire congressman dies. He is then drafted to run for that seat in order to secure Meyer's vote in the electoral college. He is elected and becomes a congressman, appointing Richard as his Chief of Staff; as he begins his congressional term, he is diagnosed with testicular cancer and undergoes treatment, entering remission by Season 6. In season 7, Jonah launches a presidential campaign to compete with Selina for the nomination of their party; while initially a long-shot candidacy, Jonah begins to gain traction by promoting numerous conspiracy theories, such as supporting the anti-vax movement and alleging that math was created by Muslims and should not be taught in schools. Amy joins his campaign as his campaign manager. He ultimately becomes vice president in the second Meyer administration. According to Matt Walsh, Jonah Ryan was originally envisioned by the show's writers as "just a fat, short, heavy smoker", but was changed to his current characterization after Simons auditioned for the role.[11]
• Matt Walsh as Mike McLintock:[12] the vice president's director of communications. Mike has served as her communications director since her tenure as senator from Maryland. His career dedication is often questionable, to the extent that he pretends to have a pet dog so he can escape from work commitments. The other characters in the show often mock his lack of ambition, suggesting that he has reached the peak of his career. He is often portrayed as lacking the skills required for the job. In the third season, he marries a reporter named Wendy Keegan. In Season 4, Mike becomes the White House Press Secretary. In Season 5, Mike and Wendy attempt to adopt a baby. They ultimately adopt a Chinese toddler, and also have twins via a surrogate. In Season 6, Selina employs him to write her biography A Woman First, but a scandal arises soon after its publication whereby the true nature of the Meyer Administration was revealed due to him leaving the diary he used for research at the offices of The Washington Post. Walsh received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his performance.
• Sufe Bradshaw as Sue Wilson:[13] the vice president's personal secretary. A direct and no-nonsense personality, Sue boasts she is the third most important person in the world, as she is the one who controls which people get to see Selina, the second most important person in the world. During a committee inquiry into Selina's office, the chairperson states that Sue "could organize the D-Day landings and still have time for Iwo Jima." Sue becomes the Chief of Scheduling for the White House in Season 4. She remains in that capacity when President Montez is inaugurated. Bradshaw based her character on that of a DMV employee, elaborating that, "DMV workers are strait-laced and go by the book, and they don't have much time because there's so much to do in a day."[14] (seasons 1–5; guest season 7)
• Kevin Dunn as Ben Cafferty:[15] the White House Chief of Staff, under both the unseen former president and President Meyer. Although he is depressed and a high-functioning alcoholic, he is often very insightful and is treated with respect and even fear throughout Washington. Ben shows little regard for his co-workers or his job, and appears to love his nine-cup coffee thermos more than anything else. Selina refers to him as a "burned-out loser", but he apparently considers her a close friend and resolves to help her become president. Though he was planning on leaving the White House imminently, he agrees to remain with the administration indefinitely. When Selina fails to win reelection, he joins Congressman Ryan's staff with Kent. (Seasons 3–7; recurring season 2)
• Gary Cole as Kent Davison:[16] the senior strategist to the president, under both the unseen former president Hughes and later President Meyer. He is a number-cruncher, and is often referred to as being cold and robotic. His obsession with polling statistics negatively influences the President's decision-making during several episodes in the second season. Kent is also focused on the public images of Selina and Catherine. It is implied that he and Sue are in some form of ersatz relationship. Although Selina initially dislikes him, she comes to appreciate his useful polling and statistical data, and he becomes a key part of her presidential administration. When Selina fails to win reelection, he joins Congressman Ryan's staff with Ben. Cole received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his performance. (seasons 4–7; recurring seasons 2–3)
• Sam Richardson as Richard Splett: an amiable, if not always completely competent, campaign aide who fills in for Gary during Selina's book tour, later becoming Amy's assistant on Selina's presidential campaign, and then briefly Jonah's personal assistant. Splett is cheerful and often the butt of jokes. In Season 5, Selina promotes Richard after discovering he has a doctorate in electoral law. As part of Richard's promotion, Jonah becomes his assistant. When Jonah is elected to Congress, Richard becomes his Chief of Staff. Richard makes many allusions to his blog, splettnet.net. After losing the presidency, Selina hires him to be her Chief of Staff for the Meyer Fund. During season 6, he becomes the sperm donor for Catherine and Marjorie's baby. Richard begins his own political career in season 7, after being asked to serve as mayor of his small hometown in Iowa. He quickly rises through the ranks, becoming Lieutenant Governor of Iowa after accidentally exposing a corruption scandal that causes the incumbent to resign, and Governor after Jonah accidentally infects the incumbent with a deadly strain of chickenpox. In the season 7 epilogue, Richard is revealed to become a successful two-term president. (seasons 4–7; recurring season 3)[17]
• Sarah Sutherland as Catherine Meyer: Selina's reserved, put-upon daughter. Catherine is often caught in the middle of Selina's issues, especially with her father. She is generally unable to gain her mother's respect or attention. She tends to have highly liberal views concerning social justice. During the first four seasons, she is a film major at Vassar College. She briefly attracts attention for dating a Persian student. Later, she dates and becomes engaged to a lobbyist her mother dislikes. Selina initiates the demise of their relationship by declaring that they've broken up during an inquiry into her administration. Catherine goes along with the breakup to protect her mother's administration. She is seen in the fifth season filming a documentary based on the unprecedented Electoral-College tie that concludes Selina's presidential run, and she becomes romantically involved with her mother's lookalike bodyguard, Marjorie. In the season 6 finale, she gives birth to son Richard, conceived by artificial insemination, with Richard Splett as the donor. Catherine and Marjorie later marry in season 7, with Selina using their wedding in Norway as a diversion to escape Interpol and return to the United States, much to Catherine's chagrin. She ends her relationship with her mother permanently after Selina promises to end same-sex marriage in order to win the presidency, in which she ultimately is successful. Years later, Catherine does not attend her mother's funeral, instead watching it on television with Marjorie and the now-adult Richard. (season 7; recurring seasons 2–6; guest season 1)
• Clea DuVall as Marjorie Palmiotti: Selina's bodyguard and lookalike. She resigns when she begins a relationship with Catherine. In the season 6 premiere, her relationship with Catherine has progressed rapidly, and they later marry in season 7. After Selina leaves office as president, Marjorie is hired to serve as Director of the Meyer Fund. (season 7; recurring seasons 5–6)

Directors for Season 1 included Armando Iannucci, Tristram Shapeero and Chris Morris. Veep is executive produced by Iannucci, Christopher Godsick and Frank Rich. Co-executive producers are Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche, with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Stephanie Laing as producers. The series' first four seasons featured an entirely British writing staff, including Iannucci, Blackwell, Roche, Sean Gray, Will Smith, Roger Drew, Ian Martin, Andy Riley, Kevin Cecil, David Quantick, Georgia Pritchett and Jesse Armstrong, among others,[26][27] many of whom had previously worked with Iannucci on The Thick of It.

Series creator Armando Iannucci departed as showrunner following the fourth season's end of production. Iannucci stated that his continuing busy schedule, as well as the challenge of maintaining his family life while switching between Baltimore and London, would not allow him to "[dedicate] one hundred percent" as head of the show, and he had chosen to "fire" himself as a result. David Mandel took over as showrunner for future episodes, becoming Veep's first American writer. Mandel retained a small number of Iannucci's writing staff, as well as Chris Addison as director and supervising producer, whilst also bringing in his own staff, and American writers.[28][29][30]

Filming

Charles Village, Baltimore, one of the areas where Veep filmed for its first season production[31]

The pilot episode was filmed in February 2011 in Maryland,[32] and filming for the series began in October 2011 in Baltimore,[33] after several months of rehearsal designed to get the actors comfortable improvising with one another.[34] For its first season, Veep reportedly hired 978 local Maryland residents, generating $40 million for the state, according to the Maryland Film Office.[35][36] Season 2 production began shooting in November 2012, continuing to film in Baltimore and other areas of Maryland. Veep primarily filmed on a sound stage constructed from a Columbia, Maryland industrial warehouse, where replicas of places such as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and West Wing were also built.[37][38][39] The show continued filming in Maryland for its third and fourth seasons, as a bill was approved by state lawmakers in April 2013 that increased tax credits for film and TV productions in the state.[36][40][41] Later filming locations included Annapolis and the Physical Sciences Complex in the University of Maryland, College Park campus.[42][43][44]

Principal photography moved from Baltimore to Los Angeles in the show's fifth season after being one of a few series to be awarded tax incentives from the California Film Commission, as part of an expanded $330 million California Film Tax Credit program signed by Governor Jerry Brown in 2014.[45][46][47] Filming took place for part of the show's fifth season in Washington, D.C., from February 25, 2016, to March 3, 2016. As a result of HBO's Community Impact program, a select number of local D.C. residents also worked on the production during the eight-day film shoot in the area.[48][49] Areas in D.C. where production was reportedly found filming include the Superior Court, the Spring Valley neighborhood (where Julia Louis-Dreyfus once lived), and Dupont Circle's Kramerbooks independent bookstore.[50][51] The seventh and final season wrapped filming in December 2018.[52]

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