Sam Richardson Answers All Our Questions About VEEP

Veep didn’t invent political satire, but the series’ seven fantastic seasons have proved to be a practically impossible act to follow. From the laser-focused criticisms of creator Armando Iannucci and later showrunner David Mandel to the murderer’s-row ensemble cast led by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep depicted the selfishness, opportunism, and ineffectiveness that can spread outward from the Oval Office with winking wit, turn-on-a-dime pacing, and creative vulgarity. Much of the series’ humor and drama came from how practically every character in the Veep world was out for themselves, with one exception: Sam Richardson’s Richard Splett, the hapless-cum-brilliant book-tour assistant turned three-time President of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize winner. Three years after the Veep series finale aired on May 12, 2019, Richardson is everywhere — starring in the Apple TV+ comedy The Afterparty and horror-comedy film Werewolves Within, appearing alongside best friend Tim Robinson on the wonderfully bizarre sketch-comedy series I Think You Should Leave, and going against type on Ted Lasso. Amid his busy schedule, Richardson sat down with Vulture to revisit his time on VEEP.