All the Vice President's Men and Women

Politics on television, as well as real life, have always been a tricky proposition. Power, greed, and desire all come in to play as countless politicians vie for whatever it is they --  or their constituents and financial supporters -- want. This can be an entertaining vein to dig into, given the natural drama and conflict that comes with running an entire country. Scandal and House of Cards seem to be the newest, juiciest iterations of tapping into political drama.


But will all the dire seriousness and importance that can be rested on politics, it can be refreshing see representations that offer levity and humor. The West Wing, for most of it's run, was the best possible combination of these two styles for it's effectiveness in interspersing significant political ideas with fast dialogue and clever banter (fans of The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and Last Week Tonight, among others, could argue the same). The show never took itself  too seriously and avoided getting mired down in the minutia and boring aspects of White House life.

HBO's Veep certainly follows in the footsteps of those great shows, albeit with a more strictly humorous bent than it's predecessors. Created by brilliant political satirist Armando Ianucci (the film In the Loop being a prime example), Veep follows the everyday lives of the Vice President of the United States (the always terrific Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) and her staff as they try to make a difference from the historically limited office. Her staff, including In the Loop alum Anna Chlumsky, Matt Walsh, Tony Hale, Timothy Simons, and Reid Scott, each give fantastic performances as inept staffers vying for attention and responsibility and failing misserably. Their chemistry is fantastic and the jokes are hysterical. Complete with excess profanity and over the top screaming matches, nothing is taken seriously and no topic or joke is off limits. Veep is simply one of the funniest shows on TV. The show just wrapped up it's third season on HBO, all of which can be streamed on HBO GO.