Julia Louis-Dreyfus' VEEP Premiere Draws Big Ratings for HBO

Sunday night's debut episode of HBO's new comedy series VEEP, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus drew 1.4 million viewers in the 10 PM time slot. For the night, including a 12 AM airing, the comedy averaged 1.7 million viewers.

More good news for HBO arrived with the second airing of the new comedy Girls which remained consistent with 1.1 million viewers. Game of Thrones kicked the night off for the network at 9 PM drawing 3.8 million viewers, down a fraction from the previous week (3.7 million). Its nightly average was 4.6 million.

In VEEP, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Emmy(R) winner for "Seinfeld" and "The New Adventures of Old Christine") stars as Selina Meyer. The show tells the story of a woman who becomes vice president, only to discover the job is nothing like she expected, but everything she was warned about. 

VEEP follows the whirlwind day-to-day existence of Vice President Meyer as she puts out political fires, juggles a busy public schedule and demanding private life, and defends the president's interests, even as she tries to improve her dysfunctional relationship with the chief executive.

The ensemble cast of the show also includes Tony Hale ("Arrested Development") as Gary, her right-hand man; Anna Chlumsky ("In the Loop") as Amy, her chief of staff; Matt Walsh (HBO's "Hung") as Mike, Vice President Meyer's weathered spokesperson; Reid Scott ("My Boys") as Dan, an ambitious political aide; Timothy C. Simons ("Days Together") as Jonah, a young and somewhat clueless White House liaison; and Sufe Bradshaw ("Overnight") as Sue, Vice President Meyer's executive assistant.