The Playlist

Recap: Memes & A Paul Simon Parody Does In The 'Veep'

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
May 5, 2013 10:30 PM
|
2 Comments

Television

The second season of "Veep" is finally on the upswing after stumbling out of the gate, with last week's episode showing what the writers can do with just a little bit of focus. And this week's "The Vic Allen Dinner" mostly takes the same tack, finding comedic potential in a simple premise and then driving to the hoop and while it might not be a slam dunk, it's a solid alley-oop.

More:

Recap: 'Veep' Delivers A "Robust" New Episode

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
April 28, 2013 10:30 PM
|
0 Comments

Television

If the first two episodes of the second season of "Veep" left us wanting for sharper humor, richer characterization and plots tackling some higher stakes, then tonight's effort is the one we've been waiting for. While the show has a tendency to get bogged down in subplots that often feel saggy, "Hostages" is an example of lean, efficient writing that comes together in a tight knot of fast jokes, and story threads that pay off. It's certainly one of the better entries in the season so far, and it's probably the only show you'll watch this year where the word "robust" plays such a central role.

More:

Recap: 'Veep' Again Chooses Lower Stakes Humor Over Richer Comedic Potential

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
April 21, 2013 10:30 PM
|
2 Comments

Television

Having barely survived the midterm elections in the season opener, Vice President Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) has now finally been granted a greater say in the West Wing, starting with a chair on Foreign Policy. So, would we finally see Armando Iannucci try and tackle some bigger political themes, and perhaps grapple with potentially richer comic material? The answer is: not really. Essentially, this episode is basically A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Meeting, detailing the wide range of mishaps and crisis management Meyer and her team have to undergo on the way to getting her to an important, key strategy deliberation regarding a hostage situation overseas.

More:

Recap: 'Veep' Returns With Lots Of Jokes, Little Characterization

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
April 14, 2013 10:30 PM
|
0 Comments

Reviews

At this point you're either watching "Veep" to keep up with the endless one liners, in order to cherish the handful that make it through and result in a good belly laugh...or you're not. One complaint that we had following season one was that Armando Iannucci often put the gags in front of any kind of characterization, and he's not changing his game plan with season two. But if the season two opener is anything to go by, it results in another uneven mashup of sitcom setups in a show that always wants cut a slice through the absurd world that is DC politics.

More:

"This Is Why China Regulates The Internet": Watch The Trailer For The Second Season Of 'Veep'

By Oliver Lyttelton
|
March 18, 2013 12:28 PM
|
1 Comment

Television

"Girls" and "Enlightened" might be over for now, but we don't have too long to wait for another quality HBO sitcom to start up, as we're four weeks from the start of the second season of "Veep," the Emmy-award winning political comedy starring Julia-Louis-Dreyfus. Created by Armando Iannucci, the man behind "The Thick Of It," and "In The Loop," the first season might not have quite hit the peaks of brilliance of the earlier show and movie, but it's still one of the most consistent and enjoyable sitcoms on TV.

More:

Conan O'Brien Joins 'Arrested Development,' Hayley Atwell Solves 'Crime,' 'S.H.I.E.L.D.' Adds Another Agent & More

By Cain Rodriguez
|
October 26, 2012 10:38 AM
|
0 Comments

Television

Today’s TV round-up features some pretty cool casting news regarding the return of a beloved cult comedy, a new comedy show from Greg Daniels, a critically acclaimed political satire and the small screen debut of a major property.

More:

Review: 'Veep' Caps Off Uneven Season With Tears

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
June 10, 2012 10:30 PM
|
6 Comments

Television

Armando Iannucci made it clear with last week's episode that "Veep" will be steering away from anything resembling real issues. While a pregnant Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) at the end of "Baseball" opened the door to a potentially inspired direction for the show, one episode later it was explained away by Meyer having a miscarriage, as the veep and her team moved on to the next issue that was plaguing their office. The show's established theme is that the office of the veep is essentially powerless and even meaningless, and as a result the doesn't have much to say about political climate in Washington except for how it operates on the most superficial level. The recurring theme is that those in Washington who wield power and influence are stupid, assholes, self-involved or all three at once. Listen, we get it, but we hope as "Veep" moves into season two it has a bit more to say as they are running out of non-issues to try and mine for laughs.

More:

Review: Amusing 'Veep' Cheaply Sidesteps A Major Plot Development For Laughs

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
June 3, 2012 10:30 PM
|
1 Comment

Television

Well, that was kind of cheap. After ending last week's episode on a potential game-changing plot development, it seems Armando Ianucci didn't have the balls to follow through with it, or least see where Selina Meyer's (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) pregnancy could take the story in "Veep." It's not even five minutes into "Full Disclosure" when we learn that she's had a miscarriage, and the crisis of the moment is flushed out to focus on a bland minor incident from a couple of episodes back, with the media reporting that the veep's office fired a Secret Service agent because he smiled.

More:

Recap: 3 Weeks In, 'Veep' Gets More Focused & Funny While Taking A Bold Narrative Leap

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
June 2, 2012 4:07 PM
|
1 Comment

Television

Listen, we know our "Veep" recaps dropped off for the past few weeks. A combination of the Cannes Film Festival and screeners that didn't arrive in time led to the gap in coverage, but when we finally sat down to catch up on what we missed, we were in for a very pleasant surprise: "Veep" has hit its stride in a major way. Unlike the overstuffed and strenously zany first three episodes of the season, a sharper focus on story and the stripping away of extraneous subplots has allowed the show's humor to come right to the fore, and the results speak for themselves. Laugh-out-loud funny in a way it hasn't been yet, and finally bringing greater dimension to the lead character Selina Meyer, "Veep" is now showing the teeth we've been wanting to see since the pilot and taking a bold story jump as well. Instead of doing full-blown recounts of what's gone down in over the last three episodes, we're going to summarize them briefly, each with a letter grade, before getting back in the swing of things tomorrow.

More:

Review: A Diva, A Dog & 20 Years In D.C. On 'Veep'

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
May 6, 2012 10:30 PM
|
1 Comment

Television

If over the last couple of episodes of "Veep" we've been critical of the writers overstuffing their plot, that's not an issue this time around. But unfortuantely, the titular subject of the episode (who really only comes into play in the last third), is also the least interesting.

More: