Georgia Pritchett – ‘Donald Trump killed my TV show’

Virgin Radio

6 Mar 2022, 16:17

One of TV’s brightest minds has opened up about her history with anxiety – and the demise of her much lauded TV series ‘Veep’.

Talking to The Graham Norton Radio Show with Waitrose about her mental health memoir, My Mess is a Bit of a Life – out now in paperback - the co-executive producer and writer on the HBO multi-Emmy winning show Veep spoke candidly to Graham about some of her earliest memories.

“I was a worrier from a very young age,” said Georgia, who is also a writer and co-executive producer on the hit show Succession. “When I found out that there might be monsters under the bed, my main worry was were they comfy. And so I used to sometimes sleep under the bed to give them a turn on top, because I was worried they would lose out on sleep.”

Georgia - who we’ve surprised to hear ever sleeps! - was recently the showrunner for Apple TV's The Shrink Next Door, an adaptation of the hit podcast of the same name, starring Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd and Kathryn Hahn. 

And it wasn’t just monsters under the bed that troubled Georgia, but the Tooth Fairy.

“When I told my mother I had lost my first tooth,” she recalled, “she told me about the Tooth Fairy. I just spiralled into complete panic, because the thought of some weird old fairy breaking in and taking body parts in exchange for money seemed like the most appalling thing I'd ever heard. That was very concerning to me.”

“My earliest memories are being anxious,” she continued. "I just thought, ‘Oh, everyone must be like this’. Then as I grew older, I began to realise I was different, which, of course, is the last thing you want as a teenager. That was another thing to worry about. I think sometimes you think worrying is a kind of insurance policy against certain things happening, but it turns out that life doesn't work like that..."

Georgia went on to talk about how her show Veep – which concerns a fictional Vice President of the United States – appears to be aligning with reality. Georgia previously shot a scene on Veep at the White House with Michelle Obama, Julia Louise-Dreyfus and the then VPOTUS Joe Biden. “He’s a great person,” says Georgia. 

“We thought the show was doing this extraordinary, sort of exaggerated, horrific version of events,” she said. “And then when we were in the White House, everyone kept saying ‘it's so true to life!’ We thought, 'Oh, no!' But then Trump killed the show.”

“It’s not the worst thing he did,” she continued, “but he did put an end to it. Our shows fictional President lied and was ruthless and monstrous and venal and corrupt. But she had a sense of shame. She was punished when she did bad things. And suddenly, overnight, that seemed very twee and old fashioned. So we had to stop, which was a shame.”

Georgia, who is in conversation with comedian Sally Phillips this Wednesday at Waterstones Kensington, London, went on to say that fate is the greatest comedian of all. 

“I love writing comedy, but I’m always impressed by how life is a better comedy writer than I could ever be. That moment where Rudy Giuliani did a conference from The Four Seasons Total Landscaping... I just wanted to hang up my pen. I would never in a million lifetimes have come up with something that perfect!"

Listen to The Graham Norton Radio Show every Saturday AND Sunday from 9:30 am on Virgin Radio or catch up on-demand here.