HBO has decided to renew Veep for a fifth season. Although the ratings haven’t come in yet, the shows must be doing well for HBO to renew it along with Game of Thrones.
Veep is one of the top comedy shows currently being aired. With its satirical dig on the life of a politician and what it takes to work in Washington, it has sure won a huge viewership. Starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the show, the show follows Selina Meyer, the now new president.
Often compared to The West Wing, Veep aims to be something completely different from other shows that have dealt with the political life in Washington. Created by Armando Iannucci, the show has done a lot of recharge before going ahead with the show.
Iannucci is not returning in the fifth season. He stepped down from the position of the showrunner last week. Veep will be lead by Curb Your Enthusiasm’s executive producer, David Mandel. It is time to see how Mandel’s treatment of the White House comedy is different from Iannucci’s.
Veep does follow a script during the shooting, but the final script goes through numerous changes on the floor when new jokes are added. Some of them are more successful than the ones that are scripted.
At a panel discussion with the cast of Veep at Paley Centre, it was revealed that the cast shoots for 70 mins per episode. The editing team then sits down and works in the final 28 mins episode for HBO. The team meets for rehearsals two to three times in a week. This is rare for television, but it gives them a unique opportunity to see whether the jokes and the dialogues work and they are changed right on spot.