That's a wrap: 'Veep' to end next year

The award-winning US TV comedy series "Veep" will end in 2018 after seven seasons, its star Julia Louis-Dreyfus and network executives have confirmed.

The show has garnered 12 Emmy awards, and Louis-Dreyfus, playing the hapless but ambitious politician Selina Meyer, has been named best actress in a comedy for the past five years running.

She is nominated again for an Emmy at an awards ceremony to be held September 17.

"The decision to bring 'Veep' to a close at the end of next season is bittersweet," Casey Bloys, president of HBO programming, said in a statement to AFP on Thursday.  

"We love the show and everyone involved but respect the producers' choice to bring Selina Meyer's journey to its conclusion after an extraordinary run of critical and award-winning acclaim.  

"Julia Louis-Dreyfus's comedic brilliance infused Selina with a dynamic presence and a vibrant wit which will ensure her a place in the history of television's most iconic comedic characters. We look forward to producing the seventh and final season."

The actress had already confirmed the news circulating in the US trade press, in a Twitter post in which she urged fans not to despair "cuz we still have a whole season 7 to write and film."

Louis-Dreyfus first became known as a friend of comic Jerry Seinfeld during the nine seasons of the hugely popular "Seinfeld" series of the 1990s.

"It became clear that this season should be the last season" of "Veep," Louis-Dreyfus, who also co-produces the series, told the Hollywood Reporter.

"We don't want to repeat ourselves or wear out our welcome. The story has a finality to it that feels end-of-series," added executive producer David Mandel. 

"It's bittersweet, but it's right," he said.