Format

The show is shot in cutaway fashion, with each sketch lasting only a few seconds to a few minutes, much like a YouTube clip, a style Ullman was looking to achieve.^[7][8] Each episode takes place within a 24-hour period and is narrated throughout by actor Peter Strauss.

Showtime's Robert Greenblatt explained, "No sketch is longer than a minute and a half. Each episode is a day in the life of the United States. You pop in on people all over the country, really quick visits. You'll go to some famous people. You'll see some recognizable faces and some regular Americans. You revisit characters from episode to episode. You'll go in and out, like the Google map of the U.S., in and out from the outer atmosphere. You'll go to Iowa and visit two women on a farm and then you'll pull out and go to Los Angeles and see Arianna Huffington, played by Ullman, in her boudoir, and then pull out and go to Washington, D.C., and see a woman who's an anchor for the evening news. Ullman will play 90 percent of the characters, men and women."^[9]

Adaptations

On November 6, 2008, it was announced that State of the Union would be remade for Germany starring comedian, writer, Mona Sharma, under the title Lage Der Nation.^[10]

Original

Celebrity impersonations

The following is a complete list of celebrities impersonated in the show.

Region 0

Region 2

Region 4

Critical response

The series received overwhelmingly positive reviews, with many critics dissecting elements of the show, including the length of the sketches, the show's format, and its celebrity mock-ups. Suggesting that Ullman's stronger portrayals are found in her original characters, rather than the famous, one reviewer wrote, "Ullman's satire is at its best when she inhabits the little people."^[29] Others praised its collection of famous, and semi-famous impersonations, including Arianna Huffington, "who sleeps with her laptop and has a dramatic Eva Gabor accent and penchant for using "blog" in every part of her speech."^[30] "Her best moments came as Arianna, Dina [Lohan] and Laurie [David]", stated April MacIntyre, of Monsters & Critics.^[31]

Its YouTube-format garnered a few complaints. "...She can do so much, initially she's doing too much. Though fun, the opener's skits are too short, and the characters too numerous, for any one joke to register. But give the show a week to settle, and the strengths of Ullman's concept come to the fore. As the show grows clearer and funnier, you may even find yourself anticipating the return of favorite characters..."^[32]

Commenting on the writing, a critic noted, "Ullman is obviously great at impressions, but it's the sharpness of the writing that sets this show apart from other sketch comedies. Ullman tosses off so many excellent one-liners along the way, it's hard to keep track of them all."^[33]

"It may take "Saturday Night Live" a season to put out this many funny characters and celebrity portrayals. But the glossy "State of the Union", narrated by Peter Strauss, churns out a dozen or more in each week's half-hour."^[30]

Ratings

The show's premiere episode raked in 907,000 viewers for its first night of three airings, 776,000 combined for 10PM and 10:30PM, (just short of Showtime series Californication's debut total of 795,000). Pre-airings of State of the Union were available through cable television's On Demand service weeks before its official premiere on the network.^[34]

Celebrity reaction

Celebrity impersonations have become a recent addition to Ullman's comedic repertoire, something that she had not dabbled in since her early days at the BBC, nearly thirty years prior. The slightly famous to the infamous are skewered in State of the Union. Reaction to the parodies were fast in coming from the actual celebrities themselves.

One of the first reactions came from actress Renée Zellweger. In a sketch, Zellweger is featured on a press junket for her new movie, where her character has a condition called "chronic narcissistic squint". The real Zellweger was shown a picture of Ullman doing an impersonation of her on the Late Show with David Letterman. Ullman revealed that she wore no make-up to get her Zellweger appearance. She simply donned long eyelashes, very much like Shari Lewis' Lambchop.^[8] "This is why I need therapy… I better watch what I say. Look at what happens when I've done nothing to her."^[35] She went on to say that Ullman looked like her "transvestite twin brother".

Political pundit Arianna Huffington's thick Greek accent and obsession with blogging receive numerous jabs throughout the series. The word "blog" is often substituted for various nouns and verbs. While filling out an Internet dating profile, Ullman as Huffington types, "Must enjoy nice long blogs in the rain." She clutches her laptop in her arms and kisses it goodnight upon going to sleep. Huffington takes the parody in good humor, saying, "I actually loved it." Huffington continued, "She does a really good imitation of me... And you know....she ends a lot of her imitations of me by saying 'blogs and kisses,' which is kind of something pretty good. I like that.^[36]

Larry David, ex-husband of Laurie David (who's impersonated in the show), publicly confronted Ullman yelling that he didn't appreciate what she did to his wife and how she was upset. Ullman says it turned into an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. She later apologized personally to Laurie David.^[37]

In the end, Ullman contends that celebrities "love being impersonated".^[38]

Awards and nominations