99 Words About … Life imitating art on HBO’s ‘Veep’

Julia Louis-Dreyfus portrays Vice President Selina Meyer in HBO’s ‘Veep.’

The right pedigree. The right look. It should have been a media darling.

Instead, it was overshadowed by some weird naked chick.

While unfortunate, it seems fitting that “Veep” (10 p.m. Sunday, HBO) was usurped by its first-season running mate, “Girls.”

Similarly, Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) was supposed to be president. Instead, she’s been relegated — literally and figuratively — to No. 2.

Rather than leading the free world, she’s busy listening to a farmer explain the speed and volume with which a pig defecates.

Meyer’s forever struggling — awkwardly, hilariously — toward mediocrity, something surpassed long ago by this smart political satire.

— CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE