Veep on HBO Nominated for an Emmy

Veep is a HBO comedy series, starring Julia Luis Dreyfus, set in the office of a fictional U. S. vice president named Selena Meyer. The show has completed its first season, but the episodes can be found “HBO on Demand.”  It is renewed for a second season of 10 episodes to begin in 2013.

I think that Julia is doing her best work in this series since leaving “Friends.”  No make that her best work ever. I think it is because premium cable TV has better writers than network TV.  Also, she has a great ensemble cast backing her up.  And she has grown as an actress.

The show is believable, although it clearly exaggerates the mishaps of a vice president.  The characters are believable and clearly delineated, although also exaggerated.  The humor in this series, as in all well-written comedies, is that the characters are exaggerated for comic effect, but not so much that they become ludicrous. The core of truth is always there.

Selena is a multi-faceted character, if you consider variations on a theme being multi-faceted.  She is by turns egotistical, scheming, ambitious, and demanding as she goes through her harried day careening like a billiard ball from one problem to the next. She’s also resourceful and clever managing to salvage the near-carnage she, her staff, and the word in general inflicts upon herself each day.  

”Veep” has been nominated for an Emmy for “best comedy series.”  In my opinion, her only competition among the six other nominees is “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” also from HBO, and another wonderfully funny show.