One of the series I’m most looking forward to this Spring is “Veep,” which premieres on April 22nd in the post “Game of Thrones” time slot. It stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus and comes from the brilliant mind of Armando Iannucci, who appears to be transplanting the spirit of his British TV series, “The Thick Of It” (and the subsequent movie, In the Loop) over to HBO. It’s the same premise with slightly bigger stakes. Basically, it’s “The West Wing” crossed with the British “The Office” set in the Vice President’s Office, only instead of noble characters aiming to achieve their idealistic goals, the only thing the bumbling characters care about is public perception and their own jobs. So, basically: It’s more real-to-life than “The West Wing.” The trailer — which features Tony Hale, Matt Walsh, and Anna Chumskly (yes, the cute girl from My Girl all growed up) — looks very promising.
But it’s missing is Malcolm Tucker. I won’t try to convince anyone that hasn’t seen In the Loop or “The Thick of It” of the genius of Peter Capaldi’s character, but those who have seen it would probably agree that Tucker is one of the five best characters of the century so far, behind Omar Little, Walter White, and basically tied with Ron Swanson. Trust me when I say I’m not speaking out of my ass — this guy is a maelstrom of profanity and rage. If you haven’t seen “The Thick of It,” this clip of Malcolm Tucker should be all you need to convince you to seek it out (NSFW for language. So much beautiful language).
