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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 27, 2019)
cover story Selina for president ‘Veep’ returns for a triumphant final season By Joy Doonan TV Media P olitical satire is a beloved comedic tradition, but it can be tricky to pull off suc- cessfully, 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 numerous highly rated seasons. In fact, the com- edy and several members of its cast have won multiple presti- gious awards and nominations since its debut in 2012, includ- ing 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 as both vice-president and presi- dent 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 watchable 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 transition. Ousted from the presidency, she tried to ac- climate to civilian life but failed miserably. She wrote a memoir, burned down a barn, almost had her own presi- dential 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 2 | Screentime 7 promises to be a hilarious ac- count 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), sycophantic per- sonal aide Gary (Tony Hale, “Ar- rested Development”), White House liaison Jonah (Timothy Simons, “Gold,” 2016) and the director of communications for the VP, Mike (Matt Walsh, “Comedy Bang! Bang!”). The clashing group of strong, dys- functional characters comes together as a perversely whim- sical 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 ambiguous when it comes to labeling their characters politically and have strategically avoided revealing Selina’s party affiliation. As Selina and her dedicated (and often bumbling) staff navigate their way through the political landscape, they often com- mit missteps that result in PR nightmares. Usually, the result- ing situations seem too outra- geous to ever occur for real, but on several occasions, life seems to have gone out of its way to imitate art. In Season 4, for example, Selina bungles a debate topic after forgetting one of the ele- ments of her “Three Rs” (a nonsensical “reform, reaffirm and renew,” if you’re curious). Later on, during a real-life de- bate, Republican governor and presidential hopeful Rick Perry forgot one of the three govern- ment agencies he planned to ax should he win the presiden- cy, resulting in a similarly awk- ward scramble to come up with something to say. “Veep’s” eerily accurate coincidental forecasting of actual campaign slip-ups has earned it a reputa- tion for being shrewdly in tune with the material it skewers. March 27, 2019 | East Oregonian and Hermiston Herald Anna Chlumsky in a scene from “Veep” The antics of the characters’ is comedy gold, given Selina’s personal lives is another come- penchant for self-absorption dic anchor of the show, as well and insensitivity. as how those private issues of- For the cast, starring in the ten bleed into their jobs. Talk- series has been an exception- ing about his role as Selina’s ally emotional journey. On the cartoonishly loyal political final day of shooting the series, aide, Hale told Stephen Col- many of the stars posted emo- bert, “I do emasculation really tional tweets about the show well,” and he described Gary and the family they had found as an insecure yes-man who on the job. Hale posted a selfie “worships the ground Selina in which he wears a sweater Meyer walks on.” This dynamic with a heart on it, with a cap- tion that read, “I can’t describe how blessed and thankful I feel for everyone here. The sweater says it best.” A seven-season run is nothing to sneeze at, and many of the cast members 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 end- ing. You can watch the season premiere when it airs Sunday, March 31, on HBO.