Veep star: Julia Louis-Dreyfus returns to work in August

If all goes according to plan, Julia Louis-Dreyfus will begin filming the final season of Veep this August.

Star Matt Walsh told EW that the Emmy-winning star has completed undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer and has been participating in table reads for the upcoming season. The HBO comedy expects to start production on season 7 at the end of the summer, and the episodes will air in 2019.

“Veep is on hiatus, we’ll start filming in August and it will air in 2019,” Walsh said. “We’ve known for about a month. We’ve seen [Julia], she’s done some table reads, she’s doing well, she’s finished her last chemo, she’s in recuperation. Her prospectives have remained excellent throughout. She’s very well loved; she’s a tremendous person.”

Walsh also praised his costar for her willingness to share her progress online. “I would hide if I had an illness like that, but she’s very brave and also better for it because she’s helped other women and other women have supported her. It’s a really unique, brave thing she’s doing just by being so out there with it.”

About four of the final season’s scripts are written and Walsh added that the producers “will want to make it the best” season yet.

HBO hasn’t officially confirmed the Veep plan, but programming president Casey Bloys recently told EW: “They’ve got a big [season] planned. They pitched it out to us, it’s really funny. When Julia [Louis-Dreyfus] is ready to get back we’ll be shooting — I’m not sure what date we settled on — but we’re waiting for her to feel well enough to get back to it.”

Veep is actually one of several other hit series skipping 2018 entirely, all for different reasons.