Stars on screen

Paused, not curbed: Don’t keep that enthusiasm clamped down: embrace it. HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” is back from a six-year hiatus, with its ninth season returning Sunday, Oct. 1.

The comedy went on an indefinite hiatus after its eighth season wrapped up in 2011 but was never officially canceled — a fate that, for many shows, winds up being no different than an official cancellation. Not so for the Larry David-helmed series, for which “hiatus” actually meant — well — hiatus.

Comedian David (“Fridays”), who co-created the ‘90s hit “Seinfeld,” returns to star as a fictionalized version of himself navigating the minutiae of day-to-day life. Cheryl Hines (“Suburgatory”) stars as David’s wife, Cheryl, and Jeff Garlin (“The Goldbergs”) as his manager, Jeff. Beyond the core stars, though, it’s the guest stars that really make the show — “Curb Your Enthusiasm” has always relied heavily on a who’s who of Hollywood.

This season has a strong lineup ready to go. Jimmy Kimmel (“Jimmy Kimmel Live!”), Nick Offerman (“Parks and Recreation”), Elizabeth Banks (“The Hunger Games,” 2012), Lauren Graham (“Gilmore Girls”), Carrie Brownstein (“Portlandia”), Ed Begley Jr. (“St. Elsewhere”), Elizabeth Perkins (“Weeds”) and Nasim Pedrad (“New Girl”) all have laugh-out-loud roles this season.

Unlike a traditional sitcom, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” doesn’t use a strict script in the traditional sense. Instead, David writes an outline of the scenes and plot and the actors improvise much of their dialogue. It’s an unconventional formula that has won the series a huge fan base and buckets of accolades: the critically acclaimed series has been nominated for 39 Emmys over the years, winning two.

“Curb Your Enthusiasm” may have been on hiatus for six long years, but it wasn’t curbed — only paused.The new season premieres Sunday, Oct. 1 on HBO.

The truth is funny: Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. An agent with a skeptical mind and a belief that all things paranormal can be explained away by science and rationality is partnered with his polar opposite: a true believer, someone who relishes the unexplained and the unexplainable.

No, it isn’t “The X-Files,” although the description fits that show perfectly. Instead, it’s “Ghosted,” a new series

that’s a riff on the formula, premiering on “The X-Files’” home network, Fox, Sunday, Oct. 1.

Created by series stars Craig Robinson (“The Office”) and Adam Scott (“Parks and Recreation”), with executive producer Tom Gormican, “Ghosted” features Robinson’s Leroy Wright,

a skeptic, getting paired up with Scott’s Max Jennifer, a genius true believer, by a secret government agency. Together they investigate paranormal activity in and around Los Angeles.

Unlike “The X-Files,” which takes its far-fetched subject matter rather seriously, “Ghosted” takes the opposite tack — it’s a comedy.The conflict between the believer and the skeptic is played up for laughs, as the duo uncovers a mystery of global proportions that may be threatening the entire planet. Amber Stevens West (“The Carmichael Show”), Ally Walker (“Sons of Anarchy”) and Adeel Akhtar (“The Big Sick,” 2017) also star alongside the two leading men.

On the surface, it may sound like “The X-Files,” but “Ghosted” is anything but a clone. Catch the premiere Sunday, Oct. 1 on Fox.

Larry David as seen in “Curb Your Enthusiasm”