Veep has also featured a powerful female senator, Barbara Hallowes (also played by Burton, the vice president from Scandal), who politically tussled with Louis-Dreyfus’ Meyer on a few occasions. Burton’s really good at the politician thing, perhaps even better than she was as Meredith Grey’s mother Ellis on Grey’s Anatomy.

One TV pol who shares some of Meyer’s political DNA but is painfully earnest (in contrast to the uber-cynical Vice President Meyer) is Parks and Recreation’s Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) who spent the past season campaigning for a seat on the Pawnee City Council after taking a leave of absence from her post in the Parks and Recreation Department. Knope, a clever and big-hearted candidate, had to match wits with her moronic chief opponent’s professional campaign consultant - another knowledgeable woman -- who played very, very dirty. Knope held her own throughout the season as her campaign had little cash and a tiny volunteer staff, but Knope kicked some serious behind during the big debate, even bested her opponent after he threatened that his father would shut down the big Pawnee candy factory and throw a bunch of people out of work if Knope won. In the end, Knope squeezed out the victory.

Not so lucky was Modern Family’s Claire Dunphy (Julie Bowen) who also campaigned for Town Council but had an utterly disastrous debate performance, thanks largely to her husband Phil and a Valentine’s Day surprise that went terribly awry. The refusal of Town Councilman Duane Bailey to erect a stop sign at a dangerous intersection -- after Dunphy had collected all the necessary signatures from concerned citizens and made an impassioned argument for the sign - was the catalyst for Dunphy’s first bid for elected office. Although Dunphy lost, at least, in the end, her opponent gave her the stop sign she wanted.

As disappointing as it is to learn that all of these programs won't be airing new installments until the fall (or later in the case of Veep), there's at least one new summer show that will make the case that women can flourish in the political realm (or at least stumble around as well as the men do). USA Network's Political Animals will be premiering next month featuring Signourney Weaver as the U.S. Secretary of State and the former wife of a U.S. president who had difficulty keeping his fly zipped. With the exception of the "former" wife part, does the premise ring any bells, right down to her denial that she'll ever run for president . . . again?

Originally published on ModernMom