A couple of weeks ago HBO’s VEEP concluded its 4th season. This marks the end of showrunner and creator Armando
Iannucci’s phenomenal work on the series as season 5 will see the show enter a
period of new leadership. This
also marks the conclusion to a 10 year cycle of Iannucci’s in the realm of
televised political comedy.
Iannucci first entered this domain in 2005 with The Thick of It, a political comedy show that revolved around a
minister in the fictional British cabinet position of Secretary for Social
Affairs. The show proved popular,
lasting for 3 seasons and 2 specials from 2007-2009 when it spun off into a
feature film called In the Loop.
In the Loop marked
the first shift over from Iannucci towards American politics in addition to the
previous British focusing, revolving around the misadventures of Simon Foster,
secretary for international development, who is caught up in pre-war fervor
surrounding the launch of the Iraq War.
After a fourth season of The Thick
of It co-produced through Hulu Iannucci made the full transition to
American politics with HBO’s VEEP in
2012. With VEEP’s conclusion now seems like a good time to examine Iannucci’s
ultimate commentary on American politics compared to England.
