Veep fans think show predicted US election chaos: ‘This is literally a Veep episode'

Episode in season five shows Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s character fretting over votes in Nevada

A case of life imitating art has emerged after fans noticed that the ongoing US election drama was “predicted” by an episode of political satire show Veep.

As Donald Trump supporters gather outside ballot-counting stations in Arizona, several people on Twitter recalled plot points from Veep’s fifth season, which originally aired in 2016.

Trump has furiously demanded a recount in the key state of Wisconsin, even as he called for vote-counting to be stopped in states where he had a lead against Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

In the “Nev-AD-a” episode of Veep, Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s presidential candidate Selina Meyer – who has won the popular vote but needs Nevada’s electoral votes – demands a recount in the belief it will help her swing the election.

Over the next two episodes, protesters planted by Meyer’s team alternatively chant “count every vote” or “stop counting the votes” depending on the latest information, and according to which option best suits them.

After it emerges that absentee military ballots will be detrimental to her campaign, Meyer orders her team to stop the recount: “You're going to cancel this recount like Anne Frank's Bat mitzvah,” she screams at them. “I’m tired of losing things!”

Responding to a video of the Trump supporters in Arizona shouting “count the votes”, journalist Alex Kirshner tweeted: “This is a Veep episode. Like, there was a Veep episode where a campaign did exactly this.”

Josh Barro, a columnist for New York Magazine, observed: “It's like the plot line on Veep where they're trying to get a recount in Nevada and then they realize right as the court hearing starts that a recount will be bad for them so they start arguing against the recount.”

Dreyfus herself noted the clear similarities between the TV episode and ongoing events in the US.

David Mandel, who served as Veep’s executive producer during season five through to season seven, commented: “Life imitates art and then beats the s*** out of it with a crowbar.”

Rihanna, an outspoken critic of Trump, shared a post from her social media calling on Americans to be patient and wait for all votes to be counted.

Follow the latest US election news here and see which celebrities support Biden or Trump here.