VEEP Wiki
Register
Advertisement
VEEP Wiki
Veep (Season 5)
S5 001a
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 10
Release
Original network HBO
Originally aired April 24 – June 26, 2016
Season chronology
Season 4 ←
Season 6
I wouldn’t be your veep if there were a grassy knoll full of Jodie Foster fans in the front row at your inauguration.
– Selina

Veep Season 5 was announced on April 13, 2015. It premiered on April 24, 2016 and ended on June 26, 2016.

Summary[]

Selina does whatever it takes to win the presidency following a historic tied election, and fends off competition from her manipulative running mate; Amy questions her role in the West Wing; Jonah runs for Congress; Mike looks to adopt children.

Plot[]

The day after the tied election, Selina is frustrated, having won the popular vote. She discovers a possible path to victory as the margin of victory in which O'Brien won Nevada was less than one percent, which by Nevada state law, constitutes a recount. Selina sends Richard, Jonah, and Amy to Nevada. Amy brings Dan as well. As the recount goes statewide, Kent discovers missing ballots in Nevada just before the deadline, which is later extended. The staff is horrified when those missing ballots were Military Absentee ballots, resulting in O'Brien winning Nevada in a larger margin than before. His margin of victory is so much larger that he also wins the popular vote.

The U.S. Economy begins crashing after the election. Selina appoints Tom to be in charge/blamed for the crisis. Tom does not take this well. In New Hampshire, a Congressman who was an O'Brien supporter dies, and they're going to hold a special election. Jonah's Uncle Jeff tasks Jonah with running for Congress (until his cousin Ezra returns from serving in the Middle East). Jonah later wins the election and becomes Congressman.

Selina begins wooing Congressmen before the vote in Congress, including using the White House Congressional Ball to pander for votes, offering Congressmen a variety of things, from rides on Airforce One to Secretary of State (which she has promised her sitting VP Doyle). Mike discovers that Tom has been meeting with House Speaker Jim Marwood and O'Brien supporter Sidney Purcell, making some kind of backhand deal. Selina learns that Tom is getting Congressmen to abstain, so the vote will go to the Senate where he is favored to win.

After the Chinese hack the White House computers, Selina accidentally tweets something obscene, which she later blames on the Chinese hackers and imposes new sanctions on the Chinese. The Chinese Government negotiate with Selina at Camp David, and in return for getting rid of the sanctions, will free Tibet. Selina is ecstatic to learn that she will be the person to free Tibet. The Chinese Government, however, do not want them to go public with the news until some time has passed, or they will reveal she was behind the tweet--and they have her emails to prove it.

On the day of the house vote, Selina is horrified to discover that Tom's plan was successful, in that three people have abstained and no one has achieved a required majority of votes. Selina wants to move up the freeing of Tibet to make it her legacy. Tom offers Selina the role of Vice President, which she at first declines, but in order to secure her legacy of freeing Tibet, agrees. The vote goes to the Senate where, to everyones surprise, O'Brien running mate Laura Montez wins. Selina learns that Doyle orchestrated the entire thing because Montez offered him Secretary of State. Before Inauguration day, Selina ponders her future while drunk with Richard. She now holds no position in office and states that she even forgets how to drive and that she needs a wallet. She has to now become a slightly more normal person.

Selina goes into a depression, upset over how horrible her Presidency has been. On Inauguration Day, Laura Montez is sworn in as President, and in the middle of her speech, CNN reports that minutes into her presidency, Laura Montez has freed Tibet. Selina says goodbye to her staff and gets into a helicopter with Catherine, Marjorie, and Amy--which later has to land due to engine failures. Selina listens to Montez's inaugural parade.

Episodes[]

Picture Title # No. Original airdate
501-2 "Morning After" 39 1 April 24, 2016
The day after the election, Selina begins wooing congressmen before the vote in congress that will decide her presidency.
502 "Nev-AD-a" 40 2 May 1, 2016
Dan and Amy supervise a recount in Carson City, Nevada, hoping the recount will go statewide in an effort to win Selina the presidency.
Detail-0 "The Eagle" 41 3 May 8, 2016
Mike must deal with the consequences of Selina's accidental tweet. Feeling usurped by Bob, Amy begins to be troubled by his behavior.
504 "Mother" 42 4 May 15, 2016
A death in Selina's family could lead to a boost in poll numbers; The recount in Nevada begins to look grim for the Meyer campaign.
505image "Thanksgiving" 43 5 May 22, 2016
On Thanksgiving day, Selina is forced to go into hiding; A congressional race in New Hampshire could give Selina the presidency.
506header "C--tgate" 44 6 May 29, 2016
Selina must make a difficult decision that could affect her relationship with Charlie, as the U.S. economy is on the verge of a disaster.
Maxresdefault22222 "Congressional Ball" 45 7 June 5, 2016
Selina uses the White House holiday party to win over congressmen, as she finds out that Tom has his own agenda; Dan preps Jonah for an upcoming debate.
508 "Camp David" 46 8 June 12, 2016
Selina conducts negotiations with the Chinese president on a Christmas retreat intended to be family-only; Jonah inadvertently attracts the NRA.
509-3 "Kissing Your Sister" 47 9 June 19, 2016
The House votes on who will be president, but Jonah might not be there for it; Catherine finishes her documentary; The staff plans on firing Mike.
510 "Inauguration" 48 10 June 26, 2016
Selina is offered the position of vice president, while planning her future; Mike's children arrive; Gary breaks down; The staff is shocked by yet another tie.

Production[]

The day after the fourth-season premiere, Veep was renewed for a fifth season, and show runner Armando Iannucci announced he would not return for season five. Former Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm writer David Mandel was announced to be his replacement.

In August 2015, Mitt and Ann Romney were invited to the writers room to give the writers insight on aspects of the presidential campaign and dealing with the loss of a presidential election.

On October 19, 2015, it was announced that production had begun in Los Angeles. Production in L.A. finished in late February, but the cast and crew flew to Washington D.C. to film various scenes throughout the season they weren't able to in L.A. Production officially ended on March 4, 2016.

On April 21, 2016, HBO renewed Veep for a sixth season.

Production Schedule[]

Episode In Production (2015-16)
#501 October 19 - 26, 2015
#502 October 28 - November 2015
#503 November 2015
#504 November 2015
#505 December 1 - 7, 2015
#506 December 8 - 14, 2015
#507 January 9 - 16, 2016
#508 January 2016
#509 February 2016
#510 February 2016

Reception[]

The fifth season received acclaim from critics. It received a Metacritic score of 88 out of 100 based on 18 reviews. The season scored a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 9 out of 10. The site's consensus reads "Thanks to the spot-on comedic prowess of Julia Louis-Dreyfus and company Veep is back with as many laughs and expletive-filled absurdities as ever."  Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that "Veep doesn't just feel like it's firing on all cylinders, it feels invigorated and out to prove something", while Kevin Sullivan of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "in the switch to new showrunner David Mandel, the state of Veep is strong".

Behind the Scenes[]

Gallery[]

Advertisement