Warning: There are spoilers from last night’s Veep in this article.
After four seasons of skewering American politics, Veep creator Armando Iannucci is leaving the show at a crossroads, thanks to a season finale that saw the presidential election end in an Electoral College tie, setting off a complicated process that could result in Selina Meyer losing her office to either her opponent, Bill O’Brien, or to her running mate, Tom James (Hugh Laurie). For incoming showrunner David Mandel, the curse of trying to follow Iannucci and pivot off this moment is clear, but there’s a slight blessing, as well, because he can essentially choose his own adventure when it comes to Veep‘s fifth season. Let’s look at some of his obvious choices.
Will Mandel continue to highlight the absurdity of our system by focusing on our byzantine electoral process, forcing us to get uncomfortably familiar with the 20th Amendment and the sight of a Congress that is high(er than usual) on its own power and panicked because it’s being forced to take a stand? On paper, that doesn’t sound thrilling, but this isn’t a show whose appeal can best be demonstrated on paper.
Iannucci seemed to bury one option last night when potential Vice President-elect Tom James (Hugh Laurie) offered Selina a shot at her old job should he take the presidency. I don’t think assigning someone balloon duty after making a “Go f*ck yourself” face constitutes a yes. And that’s a good thing because, if this show left Selina Meyer in the same place as she was when this all began, it would be a disappointment and the embodiment of what many fans feared would happen when it was revealed that Iannucci would be leaving. The same goes for any kind of time-jump that would put Selina on the campaign trail while attempting a comeback.
And make no mistake, Dave Mandel isn’t getting a long-term assignment with Veep. He’s the closer, coming in to wrap up the win. In no universe does this show last another four seasons with Selina leading the free world. I’d argue that this season with Selina in power — though still brilliant — was a slight downturn from where the show had been creatively when the Meyer team was fighting for political relevancy. I’d also argue that the splintering of the core support group with Amy and Dan moving outside of Selina’s circle was a probably necessary but still disappointing development, even though the increased screen time for Gary Cole, Kevin Dunn, and Diedrich Bader made up for it. With that all said, though, the climb up the mountain is always more interesting than the view from the top.
Should next season be it for Veep, then? Not necessarily, but I’m curious to see what Mandel can do with the climb down the mountain.
The idea of a lame-duck Selina is appealing. Would she spend her final days in office spinning in her chair as a big f*ck you to the country that rejected her? Maybe she’d rise up and try to do some good once free from the burden of having to please the electorate, using her executive privilege in a wide and unprecedented way. Unfortunately, leaving the election in a tie and in Congress’ hands means that that lame duck period could be extraordinarily brief or non-existent due to the timeline set in motion by that choice, though Veep is navigating without historical context at this point because the 20th Amendment has never been called upon to select a president.
A post-presidency Selina could also be interesting as she settles into private life while still fighting to be relevant; her staff spread throughout Washington, realizing that the grass isn’t always greener… especially for Bill Ericsson because, in case you hadn’t heard, he’s almost certainly going to prison.
If Selina loses the election and has to deal with the sight of President Tom James, Veep will almost certainly be done after next season, but that might not be the worst thing. I’m not going to go on and on about the show’s legacy and how a few lackluster seasons would tarnish it. In some respects, that’s true, but really, a few tack-on seasons doesn’t mean anything to the brilliance that will have preceded it. What it means is a bunch of less-than-necessary television with deplorable characters that we somehow care about. And what’s the point of that for viewers? Hopefully Mandel will choose an angle befitting the show that he now has in his hands and that he’ll know when to leave on high… just like Armando Iannucci did.
