ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the political fiction on three television series that are broadcast on three different platforms: Veep on HBO; House of Cards on Netflix; and Madam Secretary on CBS. Then it looks at two HBO feature-length films: Game Change and All the Way. A fine balance is achieved in Game Change, which is based on a political event that was itself highly dramatic and somewhat comic: the selection of Alaska governor Sarah Palin as running mate for the presidential bid of Senator John McCain. The film is based on the book of the same name by political commentators John Heilemann and Mark Halperin. All the Way becomes a celebration of a brief period in American electoral politics where progressive legislation had a chance of passage. It also darkly predicts the growing strength of Conservatism, which will change the Republican Party and lead to Sarah Palin and Donald J. Trump.
