In this May 25, 2017, file photo, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, a cast member in the HBO series "Veep," poses at an Emmy For Your Consideration event for the show at the Television Academy in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) --
HBO says its much-honored political satire "Veep" is coming to an end.
The cable channel said Wednesday that "Veep" will air its seventh and final season in 2018.
Series star Julia Louis-Dreyfus won five consecutive Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Selina Meyer, a self-absorbed politician. The actress is up for a sixth trophy at the Sept. 17 Emmy ceremony.
"Veep," has also won two consecutive best comedy Emmys, and is in the running to repeat.
HBO programming chief Casey Bloys writes in a statement that HBO respected the producers' decision to bring the show to a close, calling it "bittersweet."
Josef Newgarden leads the pack into Turn 2 after the start of the IndyCar Grand Prix of St. Petersburg auto race, Sunday March 10, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson, File)
Fox Sports' debut IndyCar race drew 1.417 million viewers and was the most watched series event aside from the Indianapolis 500 on any network since 2011.
The mark for Sunday's opener on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg was a 45% increase over last year's event, which drew 974,700 combined viewers on NBC.
The Fox Sports viewership peaked with 1,820,000 viewers from 2:15-2:26 p.m. Local market ratings will not be available until later this week.
IndyCar this season ended it's 16-year relationship with NBC Sports for a multi-year deal with Fox Sports, which has promised high-quality production and promotion that began in January with glossy commercials featuring three of the series stars that aired during NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl.
IndyCar has a close relationship with Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks, an Indiana native with a passion for both the series and the Indianapolis 500. He has vowed to push IndyCar back to the top levels of motorsports.
Despite the heavy promotion — which was also done during NASCAR's Daytona 500 and other Fox Sports programming — Shanks acknowledged to The Associated Press "there will still be people Googling on Sunday 'What network is today's IndyCar race on,'" — something he hopes to eliminate. All 17 races and both of the Indianapolis 500 qualifying sessions will be aired on Fox Sports this year, making IndyCar the only major motorsports series to air its entire schedule on network television.
The opener on Sunday, which was a 1-2 finish for Chip Ganassi Racing with Alex Palou and Scott Dixon, was even more impressive in that NBC Sports uses the TAD (total audience delivery) metric that includes live streaming. FOX does not use TAD because it is not recognized by Nielsen Media... Read More