When Kamala Harris became the first woman vice president, fans of the HBO sitcom “Veep” were quick to compare her and fictional vice president Selina Meyer, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Then, when President Joe Biden stepped down from his candidacy in July — leaving the democratic nomination wide open for Harris, “Veep” viewership on Max grew by over 350%, Entertainment Weekly reported.

If there is one upside to weathering the storm that is another election year, it is that the country wants to talk about “Veep” again.

“Veep” follows Meyer and her staff as they blunder their way through politics and navigate Washington, D.C. At the start of the show, Meyer is the United States’s first woman vice president, and after the president steps down mid-term, she becomes the nation’s first woman president. The capital is a greedy, self-serving city.

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A lot of characters are conniving, others are incompetent — and some are a beautiful mix of both.

The show premiered in 2012, and at that time, it was ridiculously over-the-top. The antics of Meyer and company, while cleverly and hilariously pointing out the flaws of politicians, were exaggerated. 

In a season three episode, the show mocks rich politicians who try to downplay their privilege to relate with average Americans. As Meyer is behind in the polls, her team decides she must appear “folksy” and settles on an image of a speech on a crate. The first appearance of the crate is a great success; — maybe Meyer could be a candidate for the general public.

But, then comes the gag. The rustic, blue-collar crate actually cost $1,200 to manufacture.

A decade later, a politician and an expensive crate may not crack the top five out-of-touch political moments of the week. While there has not been a crate-gate in the real world, the internet cannot stop drawing parallels between the fictional HBO show and the real U.S.

“While I’m apologizing, I’d also like to take this

opportunity to personally apologize for the current political climate,” the actress joked during her 2016 Emmy acceptance speech. “I think that ‘Veep’ has torn down the wall between comedy and politics. Our show started out as a political satire, but it now feels more like a sobering documentary.”

While the election cycle may bring the nation’s attention back to “Veep,” it may be time to leave the predictions behind. After all, while “Veep” is a hilarious sitcom, its universe is not something to take lightly. Among the list of parallels between “Veep” and real life are the anti-vaxxing movement, intense and loud xenophobia from an elected official, and government shutdowns.

“Veep” creator Armando Iannucci also addressed the constant comparisons in an opinion piece in The New York Times published in July. Iannucci wrote the article after multiple news organizations asked him for comment on Joe Biden ending his presidential re-election campaign.

“What worries me is that politics has become so much like entertainment that the first thing we do to make sense of the moment is to test it against a sitcom,” he wrote. “The stuff happening out there right now is madder than ‘Veep’ and deadly serious. These are real events, not melodramatic fictions, and they have a real impact on our lives.”

“Veep” is political commentary — and the writers may have been better at their jobs than they originally thought. More importantly, though, it’s a comedy. While the show can and should provoke thought on the American political landscape, it should also bring laughs.

So, maybe instead of using the plot of “Veep” for political predictions, it can better be used to provide brief moments of levity in between forecasts, polls and debates.

From Tony Hale’s meek bagboy Gary Walsh to Sufe Bradshaw’s deadpan secretary Sue Wilson, the sitcom excels at setting roles for its characters but without making them feel one-dimensional or replaceable. Each character has their moments to shine, but the dynamics between them are where the show’s writing shines the most. The dialogue is quick, and the show manages to strike a balance between quick wit and laugh-out-loud humor.

Of course, Louis-Dreyfus deserves special praise for her performance. After all, during this “brat summer,” it would be wrong not to celebrate a woman who is truly just so Julia.

During the “Veep” era, Louis-Dreyfus was an unstoppable force. As Selina Meyer, she went on a six-peat Emmy run for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

Every single one of those awards was deserved.

Even when depicting an awful, selfish human being, Louis-Dreyfus is still very charming.

Since her breakout role as Elaine Benes in “Seinfeld,” Louis-Dreyfus has become the standard for narcissistic, self-serving sitcom stars. She brings that same self-important energy from Elaine to Selina. 

She soundly holds a spot in the top five greatest comedic actors of all time, possibly even taking the crown.

Kimberly Aguirre is a senior writing about comedy in her column, “Comic Relief.” She is also the editor in chief of the Daily Trojan.