Veep

Veep- If you can forgive Matt Walsh for not measuring up to Peter Cipaldi’s foul-mouthed bully, then it’s virtually the same ensemble transplanted with different faces. Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays the part previously occupied by Mimi Kennedy and Timothy Simmon’s White House liaison character is a clear variation of Chad (Zach Woods). To minimize any further confusion for “In the Loop” fans, Anna Chlumsky pretty much plays the same character. She has a higher position (chief of staff to the VP) so maybe it’s the same character in the same universe farther along in time where she got a promotion?

Honestly, there’s not too much else to say except to compare it with “In the Loop” and I would presume the television series which it’s based on. You would think that because Ianucci’s distinct style is more about the rhythm of the dialogue than the plot, that the format is more conducive to television. However, when condensed into 23 minutes, I found the plot to be so much less meaty, that it felt entirely expendable to me.

I loved In the Loop enough that I would not mind tuning into this show again (oh that’s right, I don’t have HBO) bur my point is there’s something to be said for versatility and  it might have been nice if Armando Ianucci’s hyped show wasn’t so predictably similar to past work.