‘Veep’ Series Finale Aired 1 Year Ago: How Would Selina Meyer Deal With Coronavirus?
For seven seasons, Julia Louis-Dreyfus portrayed Selina Meyer in HBO’s hit series Veep. May 12, 2020 marks one year since its final episode aired. Let’s take a look at how the incompetent politician would handle today’s crisis, and how fans can relive the show while stuck at home.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus was Selina Meyer in ‘Veep’
The political satire follows Louis-Dreyfus, who begins the series as the power-hungry vice president (thus the title) to the seemingly incompetent President Hughes. She, with the help of her equally ambitious staff, will do whatever it takes to get the White House.
While avoiding spoilers, let’s just say that Selina’s job title changes both for the better and the worse throughout the course of Veep. And while the comedy was always over the top, the real-life absurdity of the Trump administration caused it to ramp up heavily.
Louis-Dreyfus is staying home
Prior to her seven seasons on Veep, Louis-Dreyfus was already an award-winning actor. But the series helped solidify her status on TV. She earned the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy six years in a row, only losing in the show’s last year at the 2019 Emmy Awards to Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Louis-Dreyfus is following orders and staying at home. In April 2020, she released a PSA to California residents for Governor Gavin Newsom, in which she urged citizens to respect the regulations in place.
She joked that she should be president
During all of this, there is still a presidential race to think about. With Joe Biden the presumed Democratic candidate set to take on Donald Trump in November 2020, all eyes are on him. He previously said that he would be choosing a woman as a running mate, which James Corden reminded him of in an April 2020 interview.
As Biden joked that he had chosen Louis-Dreyfus, the actress shared the clip on her own social media. She blurred the lines between Veep and reality, writing to the politician, “I accept but I’m a completely unqualified TV personality. Are you sure I shouldn’t be president?”
‘Veep’ writer explained how Selina would handle the pandemic
As we turn to entertainment in times of trouble, Vulture asked the minds behind popular TV shows how they would write a coronavirus episode. Veep showrunner David Mandel created a fictional biography for Selina Meyer and shared “an excerpt” from this with the publication.
The chapter shows that in January 2020 (when Trump was ignoring the virus), Selina made an unprecedented move, and “sprung into action.” Though she was thwarted by both her own ego and some of her less-than-competent staff on occasion, the end result was far more successful than many may have expected from the character.
Where to watch ‘Veep’
If this look at the series has made readers nostalgic for Veep — or curious, for those who haven’t seen it before — there’s good news. All episodes are available to stream with a Hulu subscription. But we wouldn’t suggest waiting long, especially if you want to catch up and watch along with Louis-Dreyfus’ Instagram Live streams.
