With no shortage of drama, tragedy, and comedy, the 2024 presidential race is beginning to look more like a bingeable TV series than an actual election cycle.
President Biden’s decision to step aside and endorse Kamala Harris in a race against Donald Trump is one of the most unprecedented events in the history of U.S. presidential campaigns. But viewers have found a surprising comfort in the HBO-produced political satire, Veep—and regardless of what that says about American politics, for the streaming platform Max, it’s a nice boost for an old favorite.
Streams of the first season of Veep more than quadrupled on Monday, as viewers watched the show for 2.2 million minutes—up from just 486,000 the day before, according to the entertainment industry tracker Luminate.
Veep, which ran for seven seasons and won 17 Emmys, narrates the political career of U.S. Senator Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who becomes vice president after failing to get nominated for the head of the ticket. But the moment that has real-life voters riled up comes at the end of season two, when Meyer learns that the president won’t be seeking re-election, clearing her path to the Oval Office.
Since Joe Biden made his announcement on Sunday, the internet has exploded with comments, clips, and memes connecting the dots back to the show.
Kamala right now pic.twitter.com/Moh2e7znn5https://t.co/dyfYXcCIir
— austin (@jesuissupreme) July 21, 2024
“Now we know what HBO’s “Veep” writers were doing during the strike,” one post read.
Now we know what HBO’s “Veep” writers were doing during the strike
— Alex Plitsas 🇺🇸 (@alexplitsas) July 22, 2024
This season is 🔥
Max, for its part, has been playing into the buzz. The show, which ended in 2019, is listed prominently again on the streaming platform’s homepage.
Veep isn’t the only show that’s been getting a bump from the 2024 election cycle. The Netflix adaptation of J.D.Vance’s memoir Hillbilly Elegyclimbed to the site’s fourth most popular movie slot in the U.S. last week after Trump nominated the Ohio senator to be his running mate, and the book topped Amazon’s bestsellers list.