Veep season 4 explained

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  1. 299EE6
Showrunner:Armando Iannucci
Starring:
Num Episodes:10
Network:HBO
Episode List:List of Veep episodes

The fourth season of the American political comedy television series Veep premiered on April 12, 2015, on HBO in the United States. It consists of ten episodes each running approximately 28 minutes. The season's showrunner and series creator Armando Iannucci exited at the conclusion of the season.[1]

Season four follows Selina Meyer in the role of President after her predecessor steps down to care for his wife. She attempts to pass a landmark bill supporting working mothers while navigating her presidential campaign, overseen by top campaign manager Bill Ericsson, portrayed by Diedrich Bader. Two of her staffers, Amy and Dan, abruptly exit the White House and begin work as lobbyists. Eventually, Selina is forced to choose a new running mate when Andrew Doyle unexpectedly drops out of the role. She chooses Senator Tom James, played by Hugh Laurie, whose popularity and political machinations come to irk her. After a campaign data breach puts her in jeopardy, Selina's team scapegoats Ericsson. The season finale centers on the night of the election, which concludes with an electoral college tie between Selina and her opponent, Senator Bill O'Brien.[2]

The season received critical acclaim and was assigned a 90/100 on Metacritic.[3] It received five Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series, the second premium cable series to win the award. Julia Louis-Dreyfus received her fourth Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Veep, and Tony Hale received his second Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Plot

The fourth season follows Selina Meyer stepping into the role of president after President Hughes steps down to take care of his depressed wife. Selina's staffers' incompetence ruins her first State of the Union address by failing to load her completed speech on the teleprompter. She is determined to author a bill that will benefit working moms called Families First, although her team advises against it.

Gary struggles with his reduced role as Selina's bag man. Selina confronts Gary for ordering expensive decorations for a state dinner, and they reconcile after a screaming argument.

Her vice president, Andrew Doyle hires a chief of staff, Teddy, who continually sexually harasses Jonah. Jonah eventually reports the behavior and Teddy is fired.

Meanwhile, Amy manages Selina's presidential campaign in an unofficial capacity, and is frustrated when Selina hires the best political campaign manager in Washington, Bill Ericsson. Her campaign catches negative press attention after a data breach reveals the identity of an HIV-positive elementary school student. First a White House aide, Leigh, and then Dan are fired as scapegoats for the data breach. Dan goes to work for Sidney Purcell at a consulting firm.

When Andrew Doyle unexpectedly bows out of her ticket at the party's political convention, Selina's team scrambles to find a new running mate. Amy quits in frustration because of Selina's equivocating friend and new adviser, Karen Collins. After Amy leaves, Selina heeds her suggestion to ask Tom James to be her running mate. It is later revealed that Selina previously had romantic feelings for Tom. Dan gets Amy a job at his consulting firm, but Amy has difficulty managing her anger about her time in the White House.[4]

After Selina's team successfully convinces her that the Families First bill is too big a political liability, they scramble to get the votes needed to make sure it will fail. A flu-ridden Selina directs their activities while sick in bed. Gary publicly meets with Dan and Amy and agrees to pay them to lobby against the bill. The episode "Testimony" depicts the staffers undergoing congressional hearings regarding the campaign's data breach, during which they each scapegoat Bill Ericsson. Selina takes steps to end Catherine's engagement to Jason, a 35-year-old political consultant.

The season finale ("Election Night") follows Selina and her team on election night. Jonah and Richard manage the Meyer-James rally, and Jonah turns his debacle with Teddy into a testicular health awareness campaign. Her running mate, Tom James, requests that she make him Treasury Secretary in addition to vice president if they win. After poor results prompt Selina to nearly concede, she and O'Brien tie for electoral college votes (269 each), which triggers the 20th Amendment and an impending vote by the House of Representatives. The episode discusses the possibility that in the case of another tie, the vice president of the Senate would become president, who happens to be her running mate, Tom James.

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Episodes

See also: List of Veep episodes.

Production

The series creator Armando Iannucci departed as showrunner at the end of the season, "citing the toll producing a series in the U.S. has taken on Iannucci and his London-based family." Additional executive producers for the season were Christopher Godsick, Frank Rich, Chris Addison, Becky Martin, Stephanie Laing, Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.[5]

Iannucci is credited as story co-writer for every episode. Directors for the season included Addison, Martin, Laing, and Iannucci.

Release

The first episode of the season aired on April 12, 2015, on HBO and new episodes aired every Sunday until its finale on June 14, 2015.

Reception

Season four of Veep received critical acclaim. It received a 90/100 on review aggregator Metacritic, and a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes with the critical consensus: "Veep shows no signs of slowing down in its fourth season, thanks to sharp, funny, rapid-fire dialogue between POTUS and her hilariously incompetent staff."[6]

Departing creator and showrunner Armando Iannucci was praised for the season by Newsweek, who called it the "funniest season yet."[7] The acting and writing were received well, as in The Hollywood Reporter's review by Tim Goodman: "Veep enters its fourth season firmly established as one of television's best comedies, and then immediately does what seems impossible: It delivers its most thoroughly assured, hilarious and brilliantly written and acted episodes."[8]

Matt Zoller Seitz wrote in Vulture of the titular character's acting: "Louis-Dreyfus is her usual Swiss-watch self, so confident that she seems to glide through her scenes."[9] The comedic duo of Louis-Dreyfus and Tony Hale was also applauded; Ben Travers described them in IndieWire: "The duo’s chemistry continues to drive entire episodes with a few short moments, and if they’re kept apart too long, the rest of the team is there to fill gaps faster than you can spot them."

In a less positive review, Variety's Brian Lowry wrote "The series also remains a bit too precious in sidestepping issues of partisanship, a conceit that has grown somewhat more tolerable over time."[10] David Hinckley of the New York Daily News also noted, "if you don't find awkward funny, you won't get "Veep.""[11]

Veep was called the most accurate depiction of American politics by Dan Pfeiffer for Grantland, who stated that the show captures "the humanity, the banality, and the absurdity" of Washington D.C.[12] He further stated: "The fact that real-life Washington loves the show but often doesn’t seem to truly get the joke may be the show’s most devastating critique of all."

Awards and nominations

67th Primetime Emmy Awards
CategoryNominee(s)ResultRef.
Armando Iannucci, Christopher Godsick, Frank Rich, Chris Addison, Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Stephanie Laing, Kevin Cecil, Roger Drew, Sean Gray, Ian Martin, Georgia Pritchett, David Quantick, Andy Riley, Will Smith and Bill Hill [13]
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, and Tony Roche for "Election Night"
Armando Iannucci for "Testimony"
Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series Allison Jones, Pat Moran, and Meredith Tucker
Outstanding Art Direction for a Contemporary Program (Half-Hour or less) Jim Gloster, Production Designer; E. David Cosier, Art Director; Jennifer Engel, Set Decorator
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation Bill MacPherson and Richard Davey
!Award!Category!Nominee(s)!Result!Ref.
Directors Guild of America AwardsOutstanding Directorial Achievement in a Comedy SeriesChris Addison for "Election"[14]
Critics' Choice Television AwardBest Actress in a Comedy Series Julia Louis-Dreyfus [15]
Best Comedy SeriesVeep
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy SeriesTony Hale
Golden Globe AwardsBest Actress – Television Series Musical or ComedyJulia Louis-Dreyfus [16]
Producers Guild of America AwardsEpisodic Television Series – ComedyArmando Iannucci, Chris Addison, Simon Blackwell, Christopher Godsick, Stephanie Laing, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Frank Rich, Tony Roche, Kevin Cecil, Roger Drew, Sean Gray, Ian Martin, Georgia Pritchett, David Quantick, Andy Riley, Will Smith, and Bill Hill[17]
Satellite AwardsBest Actress – Television Series Musical or ComedyJulia Louis-Dreyfus [18]
Best Television Series – Musical or ComedyVeep
Screen Actors Guild AwardsOutstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy SeriesJulia Louis-Dreyfus [19]
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy SeriesDiedrich Bader, Sufe Bradshaw, Anna Chlumsky, Gary Cole, Kevin Dunn, Tony Hale, Hugh Laurie, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Phil Reeves, Sam Richardson, Reid Scott, Timothy Simons, Sarah Sutherland, and Matt Walsh
Television Critics Association AwardsIndividual Achievement in ComedyJulia Louis-Dreyfus [20]
Writers Guild of America AwardsBest Episodic ComedyVeep for "Joint Session"[21]
Best Comedy SeriesVeep

Notes and References

  1. Web site: de Moraes. Lisa. April 14, 2015. 'Veep' Viewership Grows In Season 4 Bow. August 10, 2020. Deadline. en.
  2. Web site: Travers. Ben. April 8, 2015. Review: 'Veep' Season 4 Proves Holding Power Can Be as Hysterical as Craving It. August 9, 2020. IndieWire. en.
  3. Web site: Veep: Season 4. August 9, 2020. Metacritic.
  4. Web site: Anderson. Kyle. June 15, 2015. 'Veep' recap: 'Election Night'. August 9, 2020. EW.com. en.
  5. Web site: Andreeva. Nellie. April 13, 2015. 'Veep' & 'Silicon Valley' Renewed By HBO. August 10, 2020. Deadline. en.
  6. Web site: Veep: Season 4. en. August 9, 2020. Rotten Tomatoes.
  7. Web site: Thurm. Eric. June 15, 2015. Review: 'Veep' Season 4 and the Limits of Checks and Balances. August 8, 2020. Newsweek.
  8. Web site: Goodman. Tim. April 12, 2015. 'Veep' and 'Silicon Valley': TV Review. August 9, 2020. The Hollywood Reporter. en.
  9. Web site: Zoller-Seitz. Matt. September 4, 2015. Veep Season 4 Review: The President's Flying Monkeys. August 9, 2020. Vulture. en-us.
  10. Web site: Lowry. Brian. April 9, 2015. TV Review: 'Silicon Valley,' 'Veep'. August 9, 2020. Variety. en.
  11. Web site: Hinckley. David. 'Veep' review: Julia Louis-Dreyfus and team take humor to a higher level at the White House. April 7, 2015. August 9, 2020. New York Daily News.
  12. Web site: Pfeiffer. Dan. 2015-06-12. In the Loop: A Presidential Adviser Explains Why 'Veep' Is Our Greatest Political Show. 2020-08-09. Grantland. en-US.
  13. Web site: September 20, 2015 . Emmy Award Winners 2015 – Full List . August 10, 2020 . Variety . en.
  14. Web site: Petski . Denise . February 7, 2016 . DGA Awards: Alejandro G. Iñárritu Wins Feature Film Award For 'The Revenant'; HBO Cleans Up With Wins For 'Game Of Thrones', 'Veep' & 'Bessie' – Full List . August 12, 2020 . Deadline . en.
  15. Web site: Mitovich . Matt Webb . May 31, 2015 . Critics' Choice Television Awards: HBO, Better Call Saul, Taraji P. Henson and Amy Schumer Among Big Winners . August 12, 2020 . TVLine . en.
  16. Web site: Julia Louis-Dreyfus . August 12, 2020 . GoldenGlobes.com . en.
  17. Web site: McNary . Dave . November 23, 2015 . 'Amy,' 'The Hunting Ground' Nominated for Producers Guild's Documentary Award . August 12, 2020 . Variety . en.
  18. Web site: Veep . International Press Academy. August 12, 2020 . en-US.
  19. Web site: Miller . Mike . SAG Awards 2016: Nominations Announced . December 9, 2015. August 12, 2020 . People . en.
  20. Web site: New Series 'Empire' and 'Transparent' Lead 2015 TCA Awards Nominations . The Hollywood Reporter . Kate . Stanhope . June 4, 2015 . August 12, 2020.
  21. Web site: McNary . Dave . February 14, 2016 . WGA Honors 'Big Short,' 'Spotlight,' 'Mad Men' at 68th Awards . August 12, 2020 . Variety . en.