Current:Home > MyDid 'Veep' predict Kamala Harris' presidential run? HBO series sees viewership surge-LoTradeCoin
Did 'Veep' predict Kamala Harris' presidential run? HBO series sees viewership surge
View Date:2024-12-23 20:53:56
Are we really in unprecedented political times, or has Vice President Kamala Harris's rise already played out on HBO's political comedy "Veep"?
Ever since President Joe Biden dropped out of the running for re-election in the November election Sunday, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the spot, people have been looking for laughs ― and maybe some answers ― from "Veep."
The critically acclaimed hit, which starred Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Vice President Selina Meyer, ended its seven-season run in 2019. However, viewership of the first season was up 353% on Max on July 22, a day after Biden's bombshell announcement, with 2.2 million total minutes watched that day, according to Luminate’s Streaming Viewership data. That's compared to one day earlier, when "Veep" garnered 486,000 viewing minutes.
Is Kamala Harris going to be president?'The Simpsons' writer reacts to viral 'prediction'
"Veep" producer David Mandel trumpeted the increase on X (formerly Twitter) competitively comparing the increase to the 2020 movie adaptation of Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance's 2020 memoir "Hillbilly Elegy."
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
"Sure @VeepHBO viewership was up 353% yesterday, but the real question is are we beating Hillbilly Elegy’s VHS sales??" Mandel wrote.
"The Simpsons" might have "predicted" Harris' possible rise in a Season 11 episode, but the "Veep" parallels are eerily close as well.
In "Veep," Meyer (Dreyfus), a U.S. senator from Maryland, runs for president but loses her party's nomination to Stewart Hughes. Meyer joins Hughes' winning ticket and steps into the vice president role. In Season 2, Hughes abruptly resigns — due to his wife’s mental health, not his — and Meyer becomes president, before running for president at the top of the ticket.
A popular meme features Meyer giddily breaking the news to her staff, saying, "POTUS is not going to be running for a second term...I'm gonna run...It's totally for real."
After Biden's announcement, Mandel wrote on X. "If you never watched it, not a bad time to brush up on some VEEP!!!"
"Veep" creator Armando Iannucci poked fun at the parallels by reposting a picture of a sunglass-wearing Biden walking in the White House next to Dreyfus' smiling Meyer. (He guest-starred on the show.)
"Let’s remind ourselves that #Veep has already written a fictional version of this script .. Kamala *inherits* the actual presidency. Then runs," one X user wrote on July 21.
"Don't forget we made all that up, though," Iannucci responded back on X.
"Still working on the ending," Iannucci added.
Creator Armando fanned the flames
veryGood! (674)
Related
- Steelers shoot for the moon ball, but will offense hold up or wilt in brutal final stretch?
- Sophia Culpo Shares Her Worst Breakup Story One Month After Braxton Berrios Split
- Why Katy Perry Got Booed on American Idol for the First Time in 6 Years
- Australia argues against 'endangered' Barrier Reef status
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Take the Day Off
- Puerto Rico is without electricity as Hurricane Fiona pummels the island
- 'Water batteries' could store solar and wind power for when it's needed
- Grasslands: The Unsung Carbon Hero
- 'The Penguin' spoilers! Colin Farrell spills on that 'dark' finale episode
- A Taste Of Lab-Grown Meat
Ranking
- Hurricane forecasters on alert: November storm could head for Florida
- A record high number of dead trees are found as Oregon copes with an extreme drought
- Why Priyanka Chopra Jonas Is Considering This Alternate Career Path
- 20 Must-Have Amazon Products For People Who Are Always Spilling Things
- All the Ways Megan Fox Hinted at Her Pregnancy With Machine Gun Kelly
- More than 100 people are dead and dozens are missing in storm-ravaged Philippines
- More than 100 people are dead and dozens are missing in storm-ravaged Philippines
- Cameron Diaz Resumes Filming Back in Action Amid Co-Star Jamie Foxx's Hospitalization
Recommendation
-
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson weighs in on report that he would 'pee in a bottle' on set
-
Here's what happened on day 3 of the U.N.'s COP27 climate talks
-
Real Housewives Star Alexia Nepola Shares Beauty Hacks, Travel Must-Haves, and Style Regrets
-
How King Charles III's Coronation Program Incorporated Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
-
Demure? Brain rot? Oxford announces shortlist for 2024 Word of the Year: Cast your vote
-
A stubborn La Nina and manmade warming are behind recent wild weather, scientists say
-
Vanderpump Rules' Latest Episode Shows First Hint at Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss' Affair
-
Succession's Dagmara Domińczyk Lost Her Own Father Just Days After Filming Logan's Funeral