Veep Production Paused As Julia Louis-Dreyfus Undergoes Treatment For Breast Cancer
Veep is putting a pause on production for its seventh and final season as its star Julia Louis-Dreyfus undergoes breast cancer treatment.
On Wednesday during an interview on SiriusXM (via Deadline), the series' executive producer Frank Rich confirmed that production has been temporarily halted. "We're obviously postponing production of the show–we were supposed to have started now–while she's in treatment," Rich explained to host Julie Mason. The EP made sure to state that production will eventually move forward and that Veep fans will still get to see the closing season. "The expectation is that we will shoot again. We have one more season we're doing, which we're incredibly excited about," said Rich.
He went on to discuss how the seventh season has been moving along, explaining that although filming isn't happening, Louis-Dreyfus has still been involved behind the scenes in other aspects. "Rather impressively, while we wait for her to gather her full strength around her treatment, we've been having with the cast in Los Angeles table reads of scripts for the final season as they're ready," Rich stated. "So, it's been quite something because she's fighting a serious, what is for anybody, a real illness. And yet, [she] wants to keep working as much as circumstances allow without being crazy about it."
Rich added that he met with Louis-Dreyfus earlier this month and "watched her just be hilarious playing Selina Meyer... with the cast all around her playing the assorted group of idiots that Selina has to deal with on a weekly basis on the show." He added, "She's got a great support system. She's a very strong person and we can't wait to welcome her back at full speed."
Louis-Dreyfus announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer on September 18 of this year, just a day after she won the Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Selina Meyer. The actress wrote on Twitter, "One in eight women get breast cancer. Today, I'm the one. The good news is that I have the most glorious group of supportive and caring family and friends, and fantastic insurance through my union. The bad news is that not all women are so lucky, so let's fight all cancers and make universal health care a reality."
Last month, at the time of Louis-Dreyfus' diagnosis, HBO indicated that it would adjust production schedules for Veep to accommodate the actress if necessary. This news marks the first official production delay for the series over the course of its run.