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Veep (Showcase/Foxtel) is a 2012 TV-Comedy series. The setting is a fictional remake of the Office of the U.S. Vice-President. Armando Iannucci created the program and utilizes a cinema-type of style in his production used on his BBC TV political satire called 'The Thick of It'.
The pilot was written in 2011 by Simon Blackwell and Iannucci. After that the series received a commission for an entire full season. It premiered in April of 2012 on HBO. It aired on Sky Atlantic in the UK and ran from June 25th of 2012.
They announced on April 30th that the Veep series had been renewed for its second season. This was due to how well the first season has been received. It drew positive accolades from the critics and in particular Julia Louis-Dreyfuss for her invigorating performance. It earned itself three impressive nominations for Primetime Emmy Awards.
The Storyline
Selina Meyer (a former senator) receives and accepts a call to service in the office of Vice-President of the U.S. She soon realizes this job is in no way similar to what she had imagined it would be and was all the terrible things people had tried to warn her about.
Veep tags along as Meyer and her clueless staff try to make a mark and leave some kind of important and long lasting legacy. They strive toward this among all the day-to-day Washington political games that constantly trip them up.
ABC Pilot
The pilot for the American version (the Thick of It) got introduced as a 2007-2008 season candidate for ABC. It was intended for American audiences to poke fun at one of the lower-level members of the U.S. Congress along with his staff. Iannucci had only a production credit on this show and otherwise was not involved. Sony Pictures TV produced the pilot and so did BBC Worldwide. The pilot was directed by Emmy Award and Grammy Award winner and director Christopher Guest.
HBO Development
Once 'The Thick of It' got dropped by ABC there were several networks that included HBO, NBC, and Showtime who expressed their interests in adapting it. This caused Iannucci to re-enter into negotiations with HBO (because they were his preference) for adapting the series. This resulted in a new pilot series episode revolving around the office of the U.S. Vice-President and they called it 'VEEP'. This name was taken from the initials of the position. The show was commissioned in 2009.
Iannucci was soon given a lot more creative control. He co-wrote his pilot with Simon Blackwell (an English comedy-writer). Blackwell contributes his talents to the British version as well. In April of 2011 HBO made the announcement it had picked the show up for a full season. Louis-Dreyfuss stated it was never the intention of VEEP to show the President on-screen or ever reveal any political party specifics in regard to any characters.
The recording of this series is being done in Baltimore. The production began late in 2011. There were several months of introductory rehearsals for getting the actors comfortable with improvising with each other.
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