<P> Before creating Veep, British satirist Armando Iannucci created a BBC sitcom, The Thick of It, set in a fictional department of the British government . The Thick of It was first broadcast in 2005 and won a number of awards . Iannucci directed a spin - off film, In the Loop, which was released in 2009 and nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay . </P> <P> A pilot for an American version of The Thick of It was produced as a candidate for the 2007--08 season on ABC . The ABC pilot, also titled The Thick of It, was developed for American audiences by writers Mitch Hurwitz and Richard Day and followed a low - level member of the United States Congress and his staff . Iannucci had a production credit on the show, but he was not otherwise involved . The pilot was produced by Sony Pictures Television and BBC Worldwide and directed by Christopher Guest . </P> <P> In the pilot, John Michael Higgins played Albert Alger, a newly elected Congressman, and Oliver Platt played committee chairman Malcolm Tucker . Rhea Seehorn portrayed Ollie Tadzio, a young and ambitious speech writer, and Michael McKean played Glen Glahm, "a former campaign operative who's now the Chief of Staff" for the congressman . </P> <P> ABC did not pick up the show for its fall 2007 schedule . Iannucci distanced himself from the pilot, stating, "It was terrible...they took the idea and chucked out all the style . It was all conventionally shot and there was no improvisation or swearing . It didn't get picked up, thank God ." </P>

Do they ever show the president in veep