Veep

As Meyer and her group make the first moves in her presidential campaign, the staff scrambles to establish Selina’s position on a major issue, in an insightful yet funny episode.

Certain characters undergo major shakeups as the third season of Veep sets off a new path for Selina Meyer and her staff, in a hilarious episode.

17. American Horror Story (FX- tie) With the climactic final four episodes of Asylum and the entertaining first nine of Coven, American Horror Story has had a diverse year, to say the least. Asylum wrapped up its exploration of health care, religion, and power and Coven dove in head-first with looks at gender roles, aging, …

With the past year in television ending around the beginning of summer with a slew of season and series finales, many people have begun discussing the shows, writers, and performers who deserve recognition for their work. One of the avenues of recognition are the Emmy Awards, one of the more prestigious awards for television work. …

Throughout the second season, the US administration has found itself embroiled in one issue after another, beginning with the poor showing at the election in the season premiere. The President’s attempts at passing the buck on these issues have not only been futile in keeping his own nose clean, but have also turned members of his own administration against him, including Vice-President Meyer herself, as the end of last week’s episode indicated.

Selina admitting knowledge of the CIA spy last week came at the heels of a season-long campaign where she has ended up on the losing end of most political matters without having any say in the decision. Becoming the public face of accountability for atleast one of the government’s scandals thus gave her the ability to control the narrative in atleast one situation. The season’s penultimate episode this week sees Selina try to take further control of her political career as she realises her role in the current administration, in an episode that continues to be funny while still managing to effectively move the characters forward.

With Selina’s growing political issues in the second season of Veep, from the CIA operative hostage situation, to the scandals involving her ex-husband, a rough meeting between the Vice president and the press seemed inevitable. While Meyer was able to avoid the press in Finland, despite Dan’s bumbling efforts, such reprieve could not go on for long. This episode sees Meyer face the press, in an episode that illustrates how Meyer’s recent political actions are being viewed by those in the public eye, while still managing to be comedically top-notch.

Veep, Season 2, Episode 7: “Shutdown” Written by Tony Roche and Armando Iannucci Directed by Becky Martin Airs Sundays at 10pm (ET) on HBO Despite Selina’s best efforts at balancing the budget last week, efforts that saw her sit down to discuss numbers in the midst of her daughter’s birthday party, the President still went …

One of the staples of Selina Meyer’s career as Vice-President has been her inability to properly separate her personal life from her professional one, as well as her insistence on having a memorable event which she can point to as her legacy during her time as the titular Veep. This week brought both these issues together, as Meyer’s attempts to get budget negotiations completed before a midnight deadline conflicts with her daughter’s birthday party, in another entertaining episode that reveals more about Meyer’s life before her current government position.

Foreign relations are a key aspect of any politician’s job, with the importance of maintaining a good rapport with the international community being the most important aspect of many political positions. With the comedic song about the various European countries that Selina Meyer sang at a private function making its way online last week ahead of a visit to Europe, courtesy of Jonah, the Vice-President’s ability to mend fences was sure to be put to the test, and it is this facet of the office that this episode explores, delivering another strong episode that fleshes out some of the show’s secondary characters.

Veep, Season 2, Episode 4: “The Vic Allen Dinner” Written by Simon Blackwell and Armando Iannucci Directed by Chris Addison Airs Sundays at 10pm (ET) on HBO Numerous politicians over the course of history have seen their credibility get lost in the blink of an eye, with a single off-handed statement, or an unfortunate picture, …

Speeches are a key part of any politician’s career. A good speech can immortalise a politician, while a bad one can weigh down the rest of their career like an anchor. The amount of time politicians and their staff spend on the specific wording of any given speech, and the message it conveys, thus makes sense in this context, but nonetheless remains an absurd exercise, and it is this aspect of politics that Veep tackles this week, in an episode that displays the human side of Selina Meyer while turning the spotlight on the one-upmanship politicians play with civilian lives.

With the recent release of House of Cards and Hemlock Grove, Netflix has established serious interest in the original programming market. Amazon, another major player in online streaming services with Prime Instant Video, has made the first major step to follow suit. Late last week, 16 pilots were made available for free streaming on Amazon – 8 comedies and 6 children’s series.

Veep, Season 2, Episode 2: “Signals” Written by Simon Blackwell and Armando Iannucci Directed by Chris Addison Airs Sundays at 10pm (ET) on HBO One of the major concerns with Selina Meyer in the first season was how her position affected her personal life. Her inability to even have a fight with her partner without …

Veep, Season 2, Episode 1: “Midterms” Written by Will Smith and Armando Iannucci Directed by Christopher Morris Airs Sundays at 10pm (ET) on HBO While viewing politics through a cynical eye is nothing new, the HBO series Veep managed to put an effectively fresh spin on it, building a stable of characters around Vice President …

19. Veep Viewers had high expectations for this comedy from the mind of Armando Iannucci, creator of The Thick of It, and set in the dysfunctional offices of the Vice President of the United States and, happily, Veep delivered. Julia Louis-Dreyfus was fantastic as the VP, Selina Meyer, bringing out different elements in Iannucci’s comedy …

With new seasons of existing shows to get me through the year, this list was a hard one to devise. 10. FOX’s Napoleon Dynamite Following the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite the series follows the adventures of Dynamite and his family and friends. With Simpsons/Parks and Rec producer Mike Scully as executive producer, the franchise has …