Following on from the surprise promotion of Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) to President, Veep season 4 has lost none of its punch and satire. Keen to last longer than William Henry Harrison, Selina juggles the dual problems of an election campaign and running a country. As Selina herself observes, she’s the president so everything’s her fault now, meaning all the tiny decisions and foot-in-mouth moments that a Veep might get away with are magnified. Now needing to know everything, various darkly tragic events will be mentioned to Selina in passing with great throwaway lines before being dismissed because they’re not important enough.These tiny details are part of the beauty of Veep.
The scripts and performances are as good as ever (possibly even better), with the characters managing to skirt the ideal comedy line of being incredibly incompetent and narcissistic but simultaneously realistic. Despite their many personal shortcomings, they somehow always manage to get away with the latest gaffe or disaster.
On top of the significant shift in job role, various character roles are expanded and some new characters make an appearance to help keep things fresh. Selina’s running mate Tom James (played subtly by House’s Hugh Laurie) whose relaxed manner and personable nature constantly overshadows the president, a fact she is very aware of. Indecisive friend Karen joins the staff and provides comments such as “I think there are pros and cons to every candidate, so we just need to weigh out the pros and cons” further reduces Selina’s already limited ability to make decisions. The ever enthusiastic Richard Splett – “Richard T. Splett. Don’t know why I said ‘T’, my middle name is John” – manages to make the hapless Jonah look normal. They’re all icing on what is already a delicious comedy cake and will leave fans eager for a return in season 5.
Richard “T” Splett
Veep season 4 is currently available on various TV stations worldwide and downloadable from HBODigitalHD.com
