Julia Louis-Dreyfus‘ breast cancer diagnosis was heartbreaking for her and those closest to her, but for “Veep” creator David Mandel, it was a blessing in disguise.
“Nobody wanted Julia to get cancer,” Mandel told Vulture. “That being said, I do think I’ll look back and say to myself that Julia’s cancer was the best thing that happened to the series.”
The cast of “Veep,” including now cancer-free Louis-Dreyfus, put production on hold in 2017 and reconvened in 2018 after she finished treatment. By then, Mandel explained, real-life politics had taken a nosedive into the “pretty cuckoo,” which forced him and his writers to reevaluate their original sketch for the final season, which would’ve seen Louis-Dreyfus’ Selina Meyer back in the VP spot.
Instead, Mandel and the writers reworked the ending, which saw Meyer commit atrocities far worse than anyone had watched throughout the first six seasons.
“There was the question of what is the final thing she might do if she really was so desperate to get the presidency?” Mandel says. “And I’ll admit, for a while we did not know what that was. Well, what’s the one thing you just don’t ever expect her to do? As mean and as horrible as it is, you kill your lovable screwup of a brother, and that’s [Tony Hale’s character] Gary.”
In the series finale, Meyer becomes the president after framing Gary to take the fall for the financial crimes of the Meyer Fund, destroying Tom James’ marriage and political career and picking Jonah Ryan to run as her VP.
Tragically, once she wins the presidency, she realizes she’s alone.