Stars: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Reid Scott, Anna Chlumsky, Timothy Simons | Created by Armando Iannucci
Now that Veep: The Complete Third Season is being released on DVD and Blu-ray we get to see Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and her team of misfits at their truly scariest, campaigning to become the next president of the United States of America. Stupidity, ignorance and underhand tactics are about to reach critical mass. While Meyer may not have been based on Sarah Palin in previous episodes, it is noticeable that at times during this third season she has moments of going full Palin. If there was ever a season where she was to show how unconnected to the “real” people she is, this is the one. The scary thing is the worse she becomes the most successful her political career seems to be. Inevitably this leads to typical disasters that continue to make her a funny character, though not a likable person.
While in previous seasons I found the characters in Veep to have some redeemable qualities, in Veep: The Complete Third Season they become more cutthroat and most importantly, idiotic. Whether it’s Dan Egan (Reid Scott) being as underhand as he can be to gain the role as campaign manager or Amy Brookheimer (Anna Chlumsky) showing she can be just as misguided, to gain the same role they show when it comes to the big end game they are willing to do anything to gain the edge against their competitors. This is all before they even start aiming their venom at the other teams in the presidential race with people like Jonah Ryan (Timothy Simons) finding as he constantly becomes their victim, though he does put up a good fight to gain his own victories, but he is the fall guy for sure. We do have to remember that this is the world of politics, even if we are to see the comedy in their actions, we have to remember that it is a take no prisoners arena of battle filled with people who will do anything to get a foot up.
Even if the characters are less likable, the show still manages to be funny. One of the most amusing episodes in season three for me has to be the trip to the UK in Special Relationship, which connects Veep up with Armando Iannucci’s previous show The Thick of It. This episode shows Meyer at her most stupid and cringe worthy. Perhaps the worst part is the embarrassing moments are also the most believable, from not only American politicians but also British ones who are often show just the same level of arrogance and ignorance. If anything Veep successfully highlights the problem of politicians and the people around them being out of touch with the very people they need to vote for them.
When looking at Veep, especially in this third season it is a show that is staying strong, though I’m not sure if this was its strongest. There is a mean edge to this season that I couldn’t shake off, Selina Meyer if anything is becoming more unlikable and if anything less human, which is a shame. It becomes easier to mock these people who would rather stab each other in the backs to make it to the top than to work together in peace, but do we expect anything else? If anything, Veep is becoming a satire about politics and what it takes to be at the top, and it’s not pretty at all.
With all the arrogance and ignorance on show in Veep: The Complete Third Season I’m surprised that I actually laughed so much, but I have to admit I did. Each episode is short enough to not outstay its welcome and the entire season is perfect for binge watching. Would I like the characters to at least have some redeemable qualities? Part of me says yes, but then I remember why I loved In The Thick of It and that was full of assholes too, so why would I want Veep to be any different? The answer is really, I wouldn’t…unless they could get a character who could compare to Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) but I can’t see that happening anytime soon.
Veep: The Complete Third Season is available on DVD and Blu-ray from March 30th.
