Veep
Season 3
***
While Americans prepare to choose if their next president will be Hillary Clinton or yet another man, Veep’s season 3 presents a hilarious take on what an aspiring female POTUS (president of the US) might have to go through. Ahead of the fourth season premiere of Veep on M-Net Edge tomorrow night, I attempted to binge-watch the DVD of the previous season in an effort to catch up.
But Veep – short for VP, aka Vice- President – is not the kind of show you binge-watch. Created by Armando Iannucci, this political satire is written in such a way that crude meets complicated. So sometimes, the wit is too quick and one must rewind. Or the storyline gets complicated, which can be draining if you’re just looking to veg on your couch with a box set.
Selina Meyer (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is the vice- president of the US. She begrudgingly smiles through book signings and visits to “folksy” towns to meet with “folksy folks” because her eye is on the bigger picture: becoming president. So when word spreads that the actual president (seldom seen in this series) is going to step down, Selina goes into subtle campaigning.
But, of course, she meets some (male) rivals along the way and has to ditch the subtleties and go for broke.
By the time the fourth season rolls around, Selina has been sworn in as president. But getting there was less than easy.
With the help of Selina’s personal aide, Gary (Tony Hale), communications guru, Mike (Matt Walsh), chief of staff, Ben (Kevin Dunn), secretary, Sue (Sufe Bradshaw), communications deputy, Dan (Reid Scott) and chief of staff, Amy (Anna Chlumsky), Selina’s campaign is often an organised mess. Plus, it’s so cool to see Elaine from Seinfeld swearing and just being ungovernable, all while in jaw-dropping designer dresses and trench coats.
Veep makes for entertaining viewing – provided you don’t do it all in one go. – Helen Herimbi
l Veep season 4 starts Friday, M-Net Edge (DStv channel 102), 9.30pm.