For any actor, producer, director or show creator, comedy has always been the one genre that’s hard to fully grasp. It might be because there are different types of comedy. You’ve got romantic comedy or 'rom-coms' where you laugh and experience love at the same time. You also have dark comedy, which mixes humor with misery. You also have political satire comedy, which takes humorous aim at the manners and behaviors of politicians. And when it comes to political comedy, there arguably hasn’t been anything better than HBO’s “VEEP.”
The show stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the fictional U.S. vice-president. The cast also includes Tony Hale, Reid Scott, Anna Chlumsky, Kevin Dunn, and Matt Walsh. Throughout its run, “VEEP” also became one of the most Emmy-nominated tv shows today.
And while you continue to watch “VEEP” reruns, we thought it would be fun to discover some behind-the-scenes secrets too:
15 Initially, The Idea Was To Make A Show About Someone In Congress Or Senate
The show's creator told The Hollywood Reporter, “It was going to be someone in Congress or a senator. At one point, it was a governor's mansion.” Bloys added, “Then one day Armando called: ‘I've changed my mind, I think I'd like to set it in the office of the vice president, and she'll be the first female vice president.’”
14 When Actors Were Auditioning For The Show, They Were Interviewed As If They Were Applying For A Position In Selina’s Office
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Amy Gravitt, then-HBO Comedy head, recalled, “It was like watching a theater performance. Armando started interviewing the other actors in character as though they were auditioning for whatever position in Selina's office.” According to Reid Scott, “He's just a mad scientist throwing out the script. ‘Just talk. What brought you to the Hill?’”
13 Even After Timothy Simons Got The Part, He Went Back to His Job As A Camera Runner
Simons, who was cast as Jonah on the show, told The Hollywood Reporter, “I'd never tested for anything. So I went back to work as a camera runner even after I got the part. I didn't know if this thing was going to go.” Bloys said that Simons even asked him if he should already quit his job.
12 Kevin Dunn Read For The Character Of Kent Davidson First
While speaking with the A.V. Club, Dunn revealed, “First I went in to read for Kent, Gary Cole’s role, which I didn’t feel right for. I’d seen both roles, and I read for Kent, but then I asked if I could also read for Ben. So I went back in and read for that…”
11 Anna Chlumsky's Character Was Originally Named Anna Because She Was Inspired By The Actress Herself
Chlumsky told The Hollywood Reporter, “Amy's character name was originally Anna, and I've since corroborated that she was inspired by me.” She also told Interview Magazine, “When it was announced that Veep was coming out, it all kind of fell into place. Arm and Simon had thought of me for Amy. I read the pilot and the here we are.”
10 Jonah Ryan Was Based On A Real-Life Self-Absorbed Staffer And Was Originally Going To Be Short And Fat
During an interview with Deadline, Matt Walsh revealed that Simons's character was “initially just a fat, short, heavy smoker, and then Tim came in and they completely reconsidered who Jonah was.” Meanwhile, Iannucci revealed at a PaleyFest panel that the character was inspired by someone he had met while researching for the show at The White House.
9 Matt Walsh Would Break Character Whenever The Show Shot A Limo Scene
At PaleyFest, Walsh admitted this is where he “breaks [character] the most. He also explained, “It’s really cramped and there’s a cameraman on your shoulder and it’s always hot. For some reason I always giggle, and I feel we giggle the most whenever we do those limo scenes.” Dunn added, “There’s something in the air in those cars.”
8 Michelle Obama Is The Inspiration For Selina’s Clothing Style
Head costume designer Ernesto Martinez told Refinery 29, “She is quite inspirational in her wardrobe choices — she seems to walk a very nice line between professionalism, motherhood, and being current in fashion. When I met Julia, she echoed the same thought. She loves the way Michelle looks. And there was no other role model in office to emulate.”
7 The Final Script Is The Result Of Improvisation Among The Actors
Dunn told the A.V. Club, “We read through them, and then we put our scripts down and kind of improvise our way through the show, they take notes, and then they meet and they write again.” He added, “So by the time you see it, it does look very improvisational, and that’s because they’ve let us improvise…”
6 Real-Life Politicians Were Always Trying To Get On The Show
Iannucci told The Hollywood Reporter, “We started getting requests from politicians to appear. I remember thinking, ‘But it's not that kind of show.’ The governor of Maryland [Martin O'Malley] was trying to get on and I kept thinking of more and more ways to postpone [rather than say no] because we were getting a big tax credit.”
5 Julia Louis-Dreyfus Got Quite Physical With Timothy Simons During The Slap Scene
Simons told Uproxx, “Julia was really hitting me in the head. She pulled it a little bit, but she was actually making contact. Honestly, in the heat of the moment, you are not going to break if somebody just knocks you upside your head a little bit.” Peter MacNicol also commented, “I don’t think she did fake it.”
4 There Is An Unused Storyline Where Selina Championed Funding For The Memorial Of Military Dogs In Season Five
Mandel told Entertainment Weekly, “It never paired up with everything the right way. It was very funny unto itself as a silly runner, but it was never enough to be a story onto itself to build an episode around.” He also said that “between the library and the unveiling of her portrait, it just never fit anywhere.”
3 The Use Of Tom Hanks’ Footage In The Final Season Required Hanks’ Personal Sign-Off
Showrunner David Mandel told A.V. Club, “I do not know him, but I was with Julia when she emailed him—because we did have to ask for permission about the film clips. He had to approve them. And he wrote back and was a real fan. I believe he wrote her after watching the episode seven.”
2 The Show Decided To End Because They Were Starting To Experience A Creative Burnout
Mandel told Entertainment Weekly, “It gets to a point of, ‘Have we already called Jonah ‘Godzilla’s t****? Well, we once referred to him as some other kind of t****, and we once did a Godzilla joke about something else.’ When you can’t think of any more Jonah jokes is when you really have to hang it up.”
1 The Show Started Out As A Blind Deal With VEEP’s Creator
The show was created by Armando Iannucci who wrote U.K. political comedies “In the Loop” and “The Thick of It.” HBO’s then-CEO, Richard Plepler, was looking for “a smart show about Washington,” according to producer Frank Rich. And so, HBO Programming president Casey Bloys told The Hollywood Reporter, “So, we made a deal for a blind script with Armando.”