Veep showrunner reveals season 7 returning cast members

Veep boss David Mandel confirms which cast members will be back for season 7.

HBO’s Veep traced Selina Meyer’s journey to the White House with a series of flashbacks sprinkled throughout the season 6 finale to foreshadow her eventual decision to enter back into the political arena for another presidential run.

Most of her original team reassembled by the end of the episode, following her sudden resurgence thanks to the revelation that she was responsible for freeing Tibet and not President Montez, whose approval ratings have started to go “under agua.”

The sole exception was Mike McLintock, whose longtime incompetence finally did him in even though it was his lost diary that led to Meyer’s reversal of fortune. Luckily, Veep showrunner and executive producer David Mandel told IndieWire that it won’t be the last we see of the bumbling former press secretary and now-teacher, played brilliantly by Matt Walsh.

Image Credit: HBO

"Matt Walsh will be returning for Season 7, but [Mike] is no longer in the employ of Selina Meyer. I know where we’re not going to find him, and that is working for Selina."

Mandel cites Mike’s firing as the beginning of Selina’s efforts to figure out what went wrong with her campaign the first two times she ran for president, especially as we saw in flashbacks that she long ago contemplated getting rid of him. He also acknowledged the parallels between Meyer — an experienced female politician with limited electoral success at the national level — and Hillary Clinton.

"As we come down the pike to the next season, I have no doubt — especially since we’re talking about Iowa and running again — there will be a thousand [people saying], ‘Oh, she’s Hillary!’ In the book ‘Shattered,’ one thing Hillary did was look back on her campaign against Obama and attempt to fix some of the things that had gone wrong the first time. And I think if you look at the two seasons I’ve been in charge of the show, at least Selina has come to realize that Mike is terrible at his job. Even back in her Senate campaign, she started to realize Mike was terrible, and it only took her 16 years to get rid of him."

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At the end of the episode, viewers learned that Jonah Ryan has also decided to throw his hat in the ring for President, backed by eccentric billionaire Sherman Tanz. But Mandel cautioned that Meyer and Ryan won’t be the only two candidates in the race, as season 7 will begin before the caucuses begin. That means that we’re still a long way away from a general election matchup between a consummate insider and an outspoken outsider that would provide comparisons to the 2016 presidential race.

Also seen during the closing credits of “Groundbreaking,” was the return of Patton Oswalt and Diedrich Bader as Teddy Sykes and Bill Ericsson, respectively, now leading Jonah’s campaign despite Teddy’s continual sexual harassment of the former White House intern-turned-short-lived congressman, and Bill’s stint in prison after he took the fall for multiple data breaches during the Meyer administration. Seeking revenge, Bill later funded Ryan’s opponent in the New Hampshire congressional race after his case was dropped.

Image Credit: HBO

Seeking revenge, Bill later funded Ryan’s opponent in the New Hampshire congressional race after his case was dropped.

Expounding on those two characters, Mandel said, “We have two of the funniest guys in the world, and we didn’t even give them a line. They’re both so horribly evil, even in a show filled with evil characters, I love that that’s who Jonah gets in bed with; that’s who Tanz hires and Jonah is willing to [work with].”

Next: HBO renews Veep for new season to premiere in 2018

Despite their difficult schedules, Mandel promised that both guys will be playing bigger roles in the new season because “they’re worth it.” We’ll also see the return of Brian Huskey as Leon, the intrepid Washington Post reporter and Amy admirer who published the diary entries of the man he’s now been hired to replace.

Veep season 7 is slated to premiere in 2018 on HBO.

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