Veepilicious (Television Review: Veep)

I think I have found my new favorite series. It's "Veep" on HBO. I put this show on my DVR as an afterthought, and waited a couple of weeks before I watched consecutive episodes. And now I am hooked. It is smart, and laugh-out-loud funny. I find myself squirming with laughter, and cynical jaded me never do that. This show is a perfect vehicle for Julia Louis-Dreyfus. I have never given her time - she wasn't my favorite Seinfeld character back in the day, and I never saw an episode of "The New Adventures of Old Christine." But she is a gem here - she is salty-tongued and hilarious-physical, and she is human and believable and vice-presidential, and she is hilarious. I would be so very upset if she doesn't win an Emmy for her role her. But what makes the show much better for me is her motley crew staff - there's Anna Chlumsky as Amy, her chief of staff, her press secretary Mike, played by Matt Walsh, hunky Reid Scott, who plays Dan, the alpha male backstabber, and my favorite : her right hand man, gary, played by Tony Hale, whose responsibilities include squeezing hand sanitizer for the vice president before she shakes hands. Add to that the annoying White House liaison, played by Jonah, played by Timothy Simmons. There is an easy, breezy rapport with everyone, and firecracker chemistry, which really reminds me of "Seinfeld," and of the 80s sitcom "Soap." It's a great mixture of light and heavy. One episode revolved around a random trip for the VP to get frozen yogurt, while another one was about the potential of a sitting single Vice President who may be pregnant. All is handles with light strokes. Nothing is really heavy handed. I am so addicted to the show now that I literally wait for new episodes on Sunday nights.