Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the Cast of ‘Veep’ Will Host a Table Read to Benefit America Votes
They'll be reading "Mother," which bears striking similarities to this year's chaotic election.
Consider this scenario: An incumbent president who is dangerously close to losing a reelection demands that battleground states recount their votes, and then demands that only some states stop the recount when votes tip even more aggressively out of their favor. You probably think we’re talking about what really just happened, in real life, but it’s actually the plot of “Mother,” an eerily psychic episode of Veep that first aired on HBO in 2016. And now, the cast is bringing it back to life (or, the screen, because this is already happening in real time) via a live, virtual table read of the episode. The event will support America Votes, a non-partisan organization dedicated to turning out voters for Georgia’s runoff election in January, particularly in Black and brown communities in the state.
The Veep cast previously held a virtual reunion in support of the Biden-Harris presidential campaign. After experiencing “significant success” with that event, star Julia Louis-Dreyfuss told The Hollywood Reporter she and showrunner David Mandel decided to do it again now, ahead of the crucial Georgia runoff election in January that’ll determine Senate control.
What better way to do that then with this particular episode? Louis-Dreyfus said. ‘Mother’ has the complete, bipolar political point-of-view of ‘stop the count’ and ‘count every vote’ happening, which is what everyone was pointing to during this most recent election.
A promo video Louis-Dreyfus posted on Instagram further revealed just how eerie the similarities between “Mother” and the current election cycle really are. In scenes pulled from the episode, clashing protestors alternately chant, “this endless recount’s got to go” and, “count every vote,” followed by President Meyer demanding that the recount she’d previously ordered be stopped. (Also clock the faux hair dye streaming down Louis-Dreyfus’ face—clearly an homage to Rudy Giuliani’s disastrous display at a recent press conference in which he appeared to be melting.)
Most of the original cast will be returning for the table read in addition to Louis-Dreyfus (as President Selina Meyer), including Anna Chlumsky (Amy Brookheimer), Reid Scott (Dan Egan), Sam Richardson (Richard Splett), Tony Hale (Gary Walsh), Timothy Simons (Jonah Ryan), Clea DuVall (Marjorie Palmiotti), Matt Walsh (Mike McLintock), Gary Cole (Kent Davison), and Sarah Sutherland (Catherine Meyer).
“Veep Uncut” will livestream on Sunday, December 6th at 8 PM. You can donate any amount to reserve your spot, and 100% of the proceeds will go directly to America Votes. Click here to RSVP/donate, then bask in yet another strange, strange thing 2020 has thrown at us.