Julia Louis-Dreyfus is 'delighted' by 'Veep' resurgence after Harris bid, hopes it helps her campaign
"Veep" star Julia Louis-Dreyfus said that she is "delighted" by the resurgence of the political satire show since Vice President Harris became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and thinks that it could help her campaign.
"It's been a wild thing to witness. Viewership went up something insane, like 350 percent," Louis-Dreyfus told Entertainment Weekly. "I'm delighted. I'm happy people are getting a kick out of it. And I know that Kamala Harris is — big time."
"Veep," which aired on HBO from 2012 to 2019, starred Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a comically inept fictional female vice president, Selina Meyer. In recent years, comparisons between the titular character and Harris went viral with detractors calling out the VP's so-called "word salads."
On the day after President Biden bowed out of the race, the television show gained a 353% increase in viewership for its first season on HBO Max, according to Luminate’s Streaming Viewership data.
After being asked if the show's viral popularity would help the Harris campaign, Louis-Dreyfus replied, "I certainly hope so. Please vote, ladies and gentlemen, please vote."
However, Veep series creator Armando Iannucci and executive producer David Mandel have rejected comparisons between Louis-Dreyfus' character and Harris.
"Selina Meyer is not Kamala Harris," Iannucci told The Hollywood Reporter. "When we were making Veep, we didn’t have anyone in specific in mind…it really is not based on anyone."
"It’s nice that Veep has been watched again, but I wouldn’t want people to think that Kamala Harris is like Selina Meyer," he added.
‘VEEP’ PRODUCER ASSAILS ‘A-HOLES’ WHO COMPARE KAMALA HARRIS TO HAPLESS VP ON THE SHOW
"Veep" executive producer David Mandel also told THR this week that while he's happy that Harris is reportedly a fan of the show, he hates it when "a-holes" use clips of "Veep" to "diminish her."
"There are people really enjoying Selina’s moment of telling her staff that she’s running for president; there’s a joy there that’s fun and nice and celebratory," he added. "And then there are a--holes who are using it differently. Surprise, surprise, Kamala is a woman of color, and it seems like those people are using it as a simple way of insulting her. So I don’t like that part."
The Harris campaign has embraced the influx of pop culture memes celebrating her campaign on social media. Mandel said the HBO show is ready to help assist her campaign if asked.
"The Veep team is standing by and ready to do their part! I think there’s a generational thing going on. It’s so TikTok heavy. It’s beyond Twitter — we are in TikTok world. It’s kind of great. With the coconut thing — if you can have fun with that, my God, that’s great."
Fox News' Alexander Hall contributed to this report.