Veep: The Politics of Cornstarch Cutlery and Frozen Yoghurt Flavors

Veep, the comedy starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the Vice President of the United States, premiered two weeks ago on HBO. It didn't have as much advertising fanfare as Girls, the show it precedes, but as far as I'm concerned, the show doesn't need any help to get viewers. It was created by Armando Iannucci, the genius behind The Thick of It and the ensuing movie In the Loop that deftly satirized the workings of the British government. In similar fashion, Veep offers hilarious insights into how people in Washington can find a way to make a political issue out of absolutely anything.

The show follows Selina Meyer (Louis-Dreyfus), a former Senator who is learning that the Vice President doesn't really have much power at all, even if she is technically the second most important person in Washington. No one ever aspires to be the Vice President; it's just what you get when people decide you aren't good enough to be President. Veep explores how Selina and her staffers struggle to maintain a basic level of competence and develop projects and issues that will ensure she has a "legacy" that isn't overshadowed by the President's doings. The showrunners claim we will never see the President, so there is a running gag where Selina asks, "Did the President call?" and the answer is always, "No." The only connection Selina's office has with the White House is in the form of Jonah Ryan, the irritating White House liaison whose sole function is to show up and antagonize the staffers as he describes how often he has spoken to the President that day. 

Cornstarch cutlery isn't that great
for hot beverages

The showrunners have also made a point of not revealing Selina's political party. It doesn't matter if she's a Democrat or Republican; either way, she would still struggle with the same non-essential and petty problems. In the first episode, she is trying to encourage the use of cornstarch cutlery to reduce plastic waste and promote her Clean Jobs Commission. This goes down in flames after a staffer writes an ill-advised tweet that angers the plastics industry and leads to a promise to allow someone from the oil industry to join the Clean Jobs Commission. The second episode offers a fascinating look at how a simple visit to a frozen yoghurt store (the owners insist on spelling it "yoghurt") can derail into a gigantic PR disaster due to problems as varied as a gastric bug that's going around the office and the President's potential demise. One of the best sequences of the episode is when Selina's staffers are earnestly debating what yoghurt flavor she should get - ultimately, Jamaican Rum is deemed the cool and edgy choice, with hints of racial harmony. 

Veep has superb writers, a fantastic cast that allows for a great deal of improvisation and rapid-fire dialogue, and a premise that is genuinely engaging. There have been many shows about Presidents, but this is the first time we get a look at the thankless job of being the Vice President. Selina's ability to put her foot in her mouth during every speech and her staff's ability to complicate even the simplest of tasks allow for a potent cocktail of misunderstandings, desperation, and inanity. In other words, it's comedy gold.