Veep is an American political satire comedy television series created by Armando Iannucci. The series stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer. The first season premiered on HBO on April 22, 2012, with its seventh season concluding on May 12, 2019. [1]
Actor | Character | Seasons | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | ||
Main characters | ||||||||
Julia Louis-Dreyfus | Selina Meyer | Main | ||||||
Anna Chlumsky | Amy Brookheimer | Main | ||||||
Tony Hale | Gary Walsh | Main | ||||||
Reid Scott | Dan Egan | Main | ||||||
Timothy Simons | Jonah Ryan | Main | ||||||
Matt Walsh | Mike McLintock | Main | ||||||
Sufe Bradshaw | Sue Wilson | Main | Guest | |||||
Kevin Dunn | Ben Cafferty | Recurring | Main | |||||
Gary Cole | Kent Davison | Recurring | Main | |||||
Sam Richardson | Richard Splett | Recurring | Main | |||||
Sarah Sutherland | Catherine Meyer | Guest | Recurring | Main | ||||
Clea DuVall | Marjorie Palmiotti | Recurring | Main |
Born Selina Catherine Eaton, a former Maryland senator who, in the start of the series, is the titular vice president, or "Veep", who has a strained relationship with the president. After the president declines to run for a second term, she begins campaigning for the presidency in Season 3. At the end of Season 3, she becomes president when he resigns for personal issues. Due to a complex manipulation of constitutional law, she loses the presidential race in Season 5. After trying to decide what her post-presidential legacy should be during Season 6, she decides to run for another term as president by Season 7. She is divorced with one daughter, but remains romantically entangled with her ex-husband during the first two seasons and the sixth. She seems to display little or no maternal instinct towards her daughter, credited due to a childhood where she suffered humiliations from her parents. Her political positions are described as socially compassionate and fiscally moderate. Louis-Dreyfus has received widespread critical acclaim for her performance, winning a record-breaking six Primetime Emmy Awards [3] and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and receiving five consecutive Golden Globe nominations.
The Vice President's Chief of Staff. She credits herself as the vice president's "trouble-shooter, problem-solver, issue-mediator, doubt-remover, conscience-examiner, thought-thinker and all-round everything-doer". Amy is constantly sacrificing her own reputation to save Selina's political credibility. She is known to be uptight and overly dedicated to her career, unwilling to settle down and have children, much to the dismay of her family. She has romantic history with Dan, and may still have feelings for him. She has a few different boyfriends throughout the series, including a fundraiser for Selina and a Western politician. Amy becomes Selina's campaign manager during her presidential run, but resigns as a result of the brief appointment of an equivocating, yet omnipresent, old friend of Selina's to the campaign team. She rejoins the Meyer team when a tie in the general election leads to a statewide recount in Nevada. At the end of season 6 it is revealed that after a one-night stand with Dan, she is pregnant with his child. However, she gets an abortion in Season 7, mainly due to Dan's inability to settle down. After being sidelined in Meyer's 2020 election campaign, she becomes the manager of Jonah Ryan's rival campaign, encouraging his populist platform (inasmuch as it would have denied Meyer the presidency). She is later punished by Meyer by having to serve under her previous role as the vice president's chief of staff to Jonah Ryan. Chlumsky previously portrayed a similar character, Liza Weld, in Iannucci's 2009 film, In the Loop . She has received five consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her performance.
Selina's personal aide and body man. A long-term associate and confidant of Selina, Gary is portrayed as incredibly loyal and devoted. Gary states he has a bachelor's in hotel management from Cornell University. In the fourth and fifth seasons, Gary is portrayed as having issues adapting to Selina's presidency, since he can no longer be as close to her as previously, due to lack of security clearance. When Selina fails to win reelection, he remains on as her personal aide. Hale describes Gary's loyalty to Selina stemming from the idea that the character "is one of those guys who never really had an identity. He attached himself to people to find who he was." [6] Hale received two Primetime Emmy Awards for his performance on the series, with three further nominations.
The deputy director of communications in the vice president's office, Dan is a highly ambitious, cutthroat up-and-comer in D.C. who takes pride in his contacts and networking skills. He has dated the daughters of influential politicians to get ahead in his career. He often butts heads with Amy, whom he previously dated (and it is suggested he may still have feelings for her). He has a brief stint as Selina's campaign manager for her presidential campaign but is fired from that position after having a nervous breakdown following several crises. He resumes his post in Communications but is fired as a scapegoat amid a data-theft scandal. After briefly working unsuccessfully as a lobbyist and as a CNN analyst, he returns to the campaign staff, as a senior campaign official. When Selina fails to win reelection, Dan goes to work at CBS. In Season 7, he joins Selina's new reelection campaign. However, after being dismissed once again, he falls back on state-level politics, inserting himself as chief of staff to Richard Splett in the various offices he holds in Iowan politics. After being fired by Splett to secure his nomination as Meyer's Secretary of Agriculture, Egan abandons politics to pursue a career in real estate.
The White House liaison to Vice President Meyer's office, he constantly clashes with most members of the Veep's office, particularly Amy. It is shown that he is disliked by everyone he encounters, even foreign politicians. In the third season, he is temporarily fired from the White House for running a blog disclosing insider information, leading him to create his own news website, Ryantology. In season four, he works again as a liaison, this time between President Meyer and Vice President Doyle. He later works for the Meyer general election campaign, until a New Hampshire congressman dies. He is then drafted to run for that seat in order to secure Meyer's vote in the contingent election. He is elected and becomes a congressman, appointing Richard as his chief of staff; as he begins his congressional term, he is diagnosed with testicular cancer and undergoes treatment, entering remission by Season 6. According to Matt Walsh, Jonah Ryan was originally envisioned by the show's writers as "just a fat, short, heavy smoker", but was changed to his current characterization after Simons auditioned for the role. [9] After the end of his disastrous congressional career, Ryan runs for president in 2020 on a nativist, populist platform. However, he is later appointed as Meyer's running mate, becoming vice president thereafter before being impeached in office. In 2020, he married his former step-sister who was later revealed to be his biological half-sister.
The vice president's director of communications. Mike has served as her communications director since her tenure as senator from Maryland. His career dedication is often questionable, to the extent where he pretends to have a pet dog so he can escape from work commitments. The other characters in the show often mock his lack of ambition, suggesting that he's reached the peak of his career. He is often portrayed as lacking the skills required for the job. In the third season, he marries a reporter named Wendy Keegan. In Season 4, Mike becomes the White House Press Secretary. In Season 5, Mike and Wendy attempt to adopt a baby. They ultimately adopt a Chinese toddler, and also have twins via a surrogate. In Season 6, he is employed by Selina to write her biography A Woman First but causes a scandal soon after its publication whereby the true nature of the Meyer Administration was revealed due to him leaving the diary he used for research at the offices of The Washington Post . After being denied a position within the 2020 Meyer campaign, Mike returns to a career in journalism with his podcast "McLinTalk". His podcast is adopted as a segment on CBS albeit only for its (unintended) comedic value, with McLintock gaining the status of a veteran anchor by 2045. Walsh has received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his performance.
The vice president's personal secretary. A direct and no-nonsense personality, Sue boasts she is the third most important person in the world, as she is the one who arranges for people to see Selina, the second most important person in the world. During a committee inquiry into Selina's office, the chairperson states that Sue "could organize the D-Day landings and still have time for Iwo Jima." Sue becomes the Chief of Scheduling for the White House in Season 4. She remains in that capacity when President Montez is inaugurated, and when Meyer is re-elected in 2020. Bradshaw based her character on that of a DMV employee, elaborating that, "DMV workers are strait-laced and go by the book, and they don't have much time because there's so much to do in a day." [12] (Seasons 1–5; cameoed season 7)
The White House Chief of Staff, under both the unseen former president and President Meyer. Although he is depressed and a high-functioning alcoholic, he is often very insightful and is treated with respect and even fear throughout Washington. Ben shows little regard for his co-workers or his job, and appears to love his nine-cup coffee thermos more than anything else. Selina refers to him as a "burned-out loser", but he apparently considers her a close friend and resolves to help her become president. Though he was planning on leaving the White House imminently, he agrees to remain with the administration indefinitely. When Selina fails to win reelection, he joins Congressman Ryan's staff with Kent. (Seasons 3–7; recurring season 2)
The Senior Strategist to the president, under both the unseen former president Hughes and later President Meyer. He is a number-cruncher, and is often referred to as being cold and robotic. His obsession with polling statistics is shown to negatively influence the President's decision-making during several episodes in the second season. Kent is also focused on the public images of Selina and Catherine. It is implied that he and Sue are in some form of ersatz relationship. Although Selina initially dislikes him, she comes to appreciate his useful polling and statistical data, and he becomes a key part of her Presidential administration. When Selina fails to win reelection, he joins Congressman Ryan's staff with Ben. He becomes Chief Strategist within Meyer's 2020 campaign but abandons politics entirely when Meyer decides to appoint Ryan as her running mate due to distribution of delegates at their party's brokered convention. Cole has received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his performance. (Seasons 4–7; recurring seasons 2–3)
An amiable, if not always completely competent, campaign aide who fills in for Gary during Selina's book tour, later becoming Amy's assistant on Selina's presidential campaign, and then briefly Jonah's personal assistant. Splett is cheerful and often the butt of jokes. In Season 5, Selina promotes Richard after discovering he has a doctorate in electoral law. As part of Richard's promotion, Jonah becomes his assistant. When Jonah is elected to Congress, Richard becomes his chief of staff. Richard makes many allusions to his blog, splettnet.net. After losing the presidency, Selina hires him to be her chief of staff for the Meyer Fund. In season 6, he serves as a sperm donor to Catherine and Marjorie in the conception of their son, also called Richard. Over the course of season 7, Splett meteorically rises in his political career, serving as the mayor of Lurlene, Iowa (his hometown), Lieutenant Governor and Governor of Iowa and US Secretary of Agriculture under Meyer, before being elected President in 2040 (Seasons 4–7; recurring Season 3). [15]
Selina's reserved, put-upon daughter. Catherine is often caught in the middle of Selina's issues, especially with her father. She is shown as generally unable to gain her mother's respect or attention. She tends to have highly liberal views concerning social justice. During the first four seasons, she is a student at Vassar College and majors in film. She briefly attracts attention for dating a Persian student. Later, she dates and becomes engaged to a lobbyist who her mother does not like. Selina initiates the demise of their relationship by declaring they have broken up during an inquiry into her administration. Catherine goes along with the breakup to protect her mother's administration. She is seen in the fifth season to be filming a documentary based on the unprecedented Electoral College tie that concludes Selina's Presidential run, and becomes romantically involved with her mother's bodyguard and lookalike, Marjorie. The two subsequently marry. In Season 6 finale, she gives birth to a son conceived through Richard through artificial insemination, after whom her and Marjorie's son is named. In the final season, she suffers from postpartum depression. She appears to finally break ties with her mother when Selina uses Catherine's wedding to Marjorie to escape prosecution by the International Criminal Court and then promises to outlaw same sex marriage to gain enough support to win her party's nomination for president. She is last seen cheerfully offering margaritas to her wife and son as her mother's funeral is broadcast on television. (Season 7; recurring seasons 2–6; guest season 1)
Selina's bodyguard and lookalike. She later resigns when she begins a relationship with Catherine. In season 7, she and Catherine get married in Norway. She now serves as director of the Meyer Fund. (Season 7; recurring seasons 5–6)
Jonah's wife, introduced in the last season. She plays the part of the stereotypical politician's wife, often matter-of-factly going along with Jonah's antics as he runs for president. She is Jonah's ex-step-sister but it is later revealed through Jonah's birth certificate that they are in fact half-siblings (Season 7)