There’s a new show on HBO called Veep that’s a sitcom about the behind-the-scenes goings on in the U.S. Vice President’s office. Political TV shows that reveal what goes on behind the curtain have been around forever, but, clearly, cable has given them a voice that truly pushes the limits. Veep is truly at home on cable and truly pushes the limits in humor and content…

Story/Writing: So, at first my thoughts were that it was really funny, but, as I continued to watch episodes, it became kinda forced. It seemed like they were trying too hard to be funny and edgy and raunchy.

The writers do a pretty good job of weaving in relevant political details… But, the overall energy of the writing seems to fade. My thought is that this would have been great as a one-time-thing – like a movie…

Characters/Performances: The mix of people is good. Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the VP is probably the best, which, may not be so great considering the very best sitcoms usually have some secondary character that regularly steals the show.

There are 3 other characters who make up her team. I think they cancel each other out. But, Tony Hale as her body man/handler is a close second to her. His character has some great moments with a lot of potential – they can go a lot of places with him.

FYI – We never see POTUS – just the VP liason to POTUS. His name is Jonah and the writers go out of their way to make him obnoxious. Again with the, forced a bit…

Visual: The team hit the nail on the head with this one. The cutaways are excellent, the sets are authentic looking and the wardrobe is very WDC power-suit. This, of course, is a critical element for me with WDC TV and films because I lived there and covered it as a reporter. Veep gets no criticism from me on this one…

Rating: I’m giving Veep a B-. It’s not average, but, its not outstanding. But, I think it may have the potential to get there. My hope is that the writers find somewhere really delicious to go with this series. The subject matter is surely ripe – critics are already devouring the series; Now the creative team just needs to capitalize on it. Stay tuned…