'Veep' season 6 spoilers: why Selina had to lose, where her staff will be in next season

In the fifth season of HBO's "Veep," the ambitious Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) experienced her worst nightmare, losing her bid for the presidency. Worse, the season 5 finale also saw her running mate, Tom James (Hugh Laurie), losing to Laura Montez (Andrea Savage), who then became the first female elected president.

In an interview with A.V. Club, "Veep" showrunner David Mandel admitted that he had absolutely no intention of letting Selina win, saying that if viewers want to see her as veep, they can watch the first three seasons.

"My first instinct was she cannot be president of the United States," he said. "She needs to lose because it's the thing she wants most on the planet Earth."

While Selina had a brief stint at the presidency during former showrunner Armando Iannucci's time, it was more of a caretaker presidency and not a full term, not the way she wanted it.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter after the finale, Mandel talked about what's ahead for Selina's staff, saying that it is true that staffers (in "Veep" and in real life) eventually have to move on.

"There's a lifespan to being a staffer and at some point, these people need to take these next steps," he said.

According to the "Veep" boss, they could either move on to new jobs or start working for new candidates. The end of Selina's term, meanwhile, will mean that most of them will no longer be working for her in season 6.

"There will be different reincarnations of things, but it just will be different when we come back," he said.

In a separate interview with THR, he said, "You'll get a sense of where these people are starting and some of the fun will be putting the band together."

"There's a lot of 'Veep' left, she just doesn't happen to be the veep," he added.

"Veep" season 6 will air in 2017.