Acclaimed British comedy writer Armando Iannucci is leaving Veep, the successful HBO political satire series he created. He has overseen the first four seasons of the show.
HBO hired Curb Your Enthusiasm veteran David Mandel to replace Iannucci, reports The Hollywood Reporter. Mandel worked with star Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Seinfeld for three seasons.
Anna Chlumsky, who starred in Iannucci’s Oscar-nominated In The Loop before Veep, told TheWrap that the change is “hard to put into words.” She added, “He’s the guy who brought me on. I love him very much. I love the writers — they’re like family.”
The series stars Louis-Dreyfus as Vice President Selina Meyer, who often lets her staff and herself get in the way of navigating politics in Washington. She has won three straight Emmys for her performance and Tony Hale won an Emmy for his supporting role in 2013.
The fourth season of Veep begins on Sunday at 10:30 p.m. HBO hasn’t picked it up for a fifth season yet, but it probably will after the first few episodes air.
Iannucci also created The Thick Of It, which was sort of a model for Veep, as it satirized the British political system much in the same way that Veep pokes fun at the American system. He also co-wrote Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge projects. As for his next project, he once told THR that he’s developing a comedy about Stalin’s death.