Over the years, a few TV shows have had cultural impacts on par with literary classics. “Cheers,” “Friends” and “The Office” are shows that have run for years and provide watchers with a community and shared experience. Mostly, they try to come off as “relatable”: a group of friends trying their best in the big city, and average office workers trying to find fun in their repetitive days. These are stories we know, and they stick with us. But this rule does not always apply.
“Veep” is an anomaly. Not only did it choose to stop airing of its own accord, rather than being canceled by the evil streaming oligarchs, but it is not relatable. There is nothing average about being an independently wealthy, selfish woman who becomes the vice president of the United States. Yet, not only was the show incredibly popular when it aired, it experienced a resurgence — a resurgence we are currently in.
If you or anyone you know has been on the immortal hell site known as Twitter (No, I won’t call it X), any time in the past two months, they have likely stumbled across a gif or image of Julia Louis-Dreyfuss cursing. To the average person, this may seem like Elaine from “Seinfeld” got a haircut, and they forgot. But for many of us, a different woman comes to mind — the one and only Selina Meyer and the star of “Veep.”
Suppose you had never seen “Veep” and didn’t know when it aired; watching the first episode might bring another female vice president to mind. Meyers’ mannerisms are so similar to those of Vice President Kamala Harris that it is almost impossible to believe the show started airing in 2012 when Harris was only the attorney general of California. As the show continues and the sitting president steps down, leaving the path clear for Meyer, one may start to wonder if the writer’s time traveled to 2024. But this terrifying contrast isn’t what makes the show one of my top-watched.
There is one thing that brings me back to “Veep” again and again, one thing that keeps me watching the same plotlines over and over and over and over: Amy Brookheimers’ beautiful face.
Well, not really, but basically. Brookheimer is one of Meyers’ key staffers, serving as chief of staff, campaign manager and general political support. She is one of the constants in the show, along with Dan Eagan and Mike McLintok. Brookheimer represents something in American politics that is impossible to explain, something that no AP U.S. History teacher can teach, something that I think most Americans cannot even comprehend: Most politicians are stupid.
I don’t mean stupid like former President Donald Trump’s idiocy. I mean that even though all these politicians are Ivy-Leaguers, ex-lawyers and valedictorians, they need to be told what to do every minute of every day by people the American public don’t even know exist.
Brookheimer represents the people who are really running America, the staffers that fill the White House, the Capital and, in the evening, all the surrounding Washington D.C. bars. No matter how approachable or “real” a politician looks, there are 15 people who spent hours crafting each sentence to promote that image.
“Veep” has shown more people the reality of American politics than any history class, and the real kicker is that it started as satire. In 2012, the idea of politics being this ridiculous was, literally, laughable. These harsh extremes were considered comical. But, as time went on, reality started to catch up.
“Veep” only ended because the producers realized they couldn’t think of anything crazier than what was actually happening. Now, it can almost be viewed as a crash course of what happens behind closed doors.
I know it’s a HBO TV show, not a documentary. But look at Tina Flournoy, Harris’ ex-chief of staff, who was “reappointed” after a Politico article that highlighted the dysfunction in the vice president’s office. Despite multiple aides placing Harris herself at the center of the dysfunction, Flournoy took the heat, and the media moved on to something new. Now, look at Brookheimer, who told the media she had a miscarriage to push Meyer out of the spotlight and to keep her job.
I don’t recommend that anyone learn everything about politics from “Veep.” Still, if you are looking for a glimpse behind the curtain or just need to remind yourself that politicians aren’t your friends, I recommend opening HBOMax and searching for “Veep.” Even if you disagree with everything I’ve said, you’ll at least laugh at Jonah Ryan and be impressed by Louis-Dreyfuss’ ability to conjure impressively creative insults with a straight face.
Plus, if you ever feel like your professors keep piling on work, and you haven’t gone grocery shopping, and you need to do laundry, and then someone asks you for a favor, you may relate to the immortal words of Amy Brookhiemer: “I feel like I’m on a life support machine, and they keep pulling the plug to charge their phones!” (season four, episode four).
