HBO is keen on its hit comedy series, Veep, as the network has renewed it for a third run whilst only at the beginning of its second season.
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For me at least The Thick of It has to be one of the best British sitcoms of the last ten years, with the political satire going onto spawn a Oscar-nominated film in In the Loop as well as scoop a whole lot of BAFTAs. I’ve always been baffled that creator Armando Iannucci has never tried to take the comedy Stateside, as we all know that politics is just as if not more of a joke in America than it is in Britain but now thankfully he has bought us Veep.

The programme is set around the office of the vice president (often shortened to Veep), Selina Mayer, a politician who has realised that the role she has comes with very little power and just exists in case the president wants somebody to represent him at a certain function. Like with The Thick Of It, Veep also focuses on a small group of people who work for the central politician and in this programme they are headed up by the young but ambitious chief-of-staff Amy, as well as featuring Selina’s aide the always helpful Gary, the old-school head of press Mike and her seemingly sane personal assistant Sue while the show’s main antagonist is Jonah the liaison from the White House who often flaunts the fact that he works for a much more powerful figure.

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Though the football is still raging on and the tennis starts next week also there seems to be a plethora of TV highlights to look through so let’s get started shall we.

Radio 1′s Hackney Weekend (BBC3, from Sat, 7pm)
So we’re into music festival season now and even though there’s no Glastonbury that won’t stop Sky Arts and BBC3 broadcasting every other British festival within reason kicking off with Radio 1′s live music weeekender in Hackney. Saturday night’s coverage includes acoustic king Ed Sheeran, soulful sensation Emeli Sande, rapper Nicki Minaj and indie heavyweights Kasabian before headline act Jay Z gets a two hour slot dedicated to his act before one final show focusing on the sets performed by Rita Ora and Leona Lewis. Sunday’s acts include singer/songwriter Ben Howard and the incredibly popular Tinie Tempah however the day really belongs to the girls with Jessie J, Florence and The Machine and headliner Rihanna all appearing. Hosted by Radio 1 DJs Fearne Cotton, Greg James and Gemma Cairney this promises to be an entertaining watch if a little more corporate than Glastonbury. Also on the live music front this weekend is the Isle of Wight festival with performances from such acts as Bruce Springsteen, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds Pearl Jam, Biffy Clyro, Madness and Ash airing as part of highlights package on Sky Arts.

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