10 Problems With House Of Cards Nobody Wants To Admit

2. Veep Is Probably A More Accurate Portrayal Of Washington

Picturing the US government as a grand, sweeping Shakespearean drama with lots of back-stabbing (both figurative and literal) and terrible people terrible things is probably not the best way to think about how your country is run, but it's arguably better than the alternative. There'll be a fair amount of that, but there's a show that's probably closer to how Washington works. Veep is a sort-of American spin-off of British political spoof The Thick Of It, sharing much of its predecessor's writing staff, creative swearing, and respect for politicians. In House Of Cards, congressmen and women are all getting dirt on each other, being manipulative, and are generally a very sharp and heartless bunch. In Veep there's equally as much lack of respect for each other and focus on selfish gain, but everybody involved is a bumbling, flawed narcissist, or else a complete imbecile who stumbles as much into scandal as triumph. Knowing that the greatest power in the free world is probably governed like this isn't al that reassuring, but probably more likely than how Underwood and co do things.