4. Veep
All roads lead to The Thick of It. The hit UK political sitcom, created by Armando Iannucci – a man with a long history of stellar comedy in the UK with such hits as Alan Partridge, The Day Today and now, Veep. The popularity that Veep has achieved in the US combined with the recent casting of Peter Capaldi (human powder keg Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It) as the Doctor in the newest iteration of Doctor Who means that The Thick of It is bound to find a bigger audience in the US.
Why am I talking about this here? Well, Veep is a great example of a regional adaptation done correctly. Just like The Office US was a perfect adaptation of The Office UK, Veep was Iannucci’s attempt to adapt the themes of The Thick of It – the general incompetence of politicians and civil servants – to a more American sensibility. The style of the show might be slightly more polished than its origin would suggest, and the comedy slightly broader and less wordy, but it’s still fantastic.
A big part of the pitch for Veep appeared to be that In The Loop, the 2009 Academy Award-nominated movie written and directed by Iannucci and his team (starring James Gandolfini, among others), did so well critically and financially. It logically follows that the team’s considerable talents would be transferred to television, and Veep is the result. Does it succeed? Does it ever. A big part of this is great casting – the ever-brilliant Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Vice President Selina Meyer swears and sighs her way through one calamity after another, never hearing from the President, and never quite in control of her enthusiastic staff. Other notable players include Anna Chlumsky (as Amy, Selina’s put upon chief of staff), Arrested Development‘s Tony Hale (Selina’s loyal aide Gary) and Matt Walsh as Mike, her director of communications.
A rarity in US television in that it keeps its episode count pretty low – eighteen episodes across two seasons – it has managed to maintain consistently high levels of awkward humour. Season two saw Selina maneuvering into different areas in the political spectrum, spearheading various international trade deals and even dealing with the consequences of a federal shutdown. It’s set to return in 2014, which is great news for fans of comedy with their head screwed on.