Going out with ‘Enthusiasm’: Larry David, HBO say goodbye to ‘Curb’ after 12 seasons
Twelve is a recurring number in our daily lives. There are 12 months in the year, 12 eggs in a standard carton, 12 items to a dozen, 12 inches in a foot, and for those who just celebrated the holiday, 12 days of Christmas — that one even comes with its own song.
For comedian Larry David (“Seinfeld”) and HBO, the number 12 now has an additional meaning: the number of seasons in a popular comedy series. “Curb Your Enthusiasm” returns for its 12th and final season Sunday, Feb. 4, on HBO and Max.
After a total of 24 years on television, the twotime Emmy-winning comedy is headed for the door. The semi-improvisational series, which began in 2000 and took a six-year hiatus between Season 8 (released July 2011) and Season 9 (released October 2017), ends its run with a final 10-episode season. With new episodes dropping on HBO and the Max streaming service each Sunday night until the April 7 finale, the show’s creator and star, David, is looking forward to ending the show on his own terms.
“As ‘Curb’ comes to an end, I will now have the opportunity to finally shed this Larry David persona and become the person God intended me to be — the thoughtful, kind, caring, considerate human being I was until I got derailed by portraying this malignant character,” David quipped in an HBO news release this past December.
He continued: “And so ‘Larry David,’ I bid you farewell. Your misanthropy will not be missed. And for those of you who would like to get in touch with me, you can reach me at Doctors Without Borders.”
David, who gained popularity for his particular brand of sardonic humor, is perhaps best known for his work on the cult classic ‘90s sitcom “Seinfeld.” A co-creator of the show alongside Jerry Seinfeld himself, David has embraced the quickwitted, ironic wordplay and anti-authoritarian themes that have become synonymous with Jewish humor in Hollywood. While he and Seinfeld are certainly not the only Jewish comedians to make it big in television, “Curb” and “Seinfeld’s” combined 293 episodes certainly carry a lot of weight in the business.
In fact, the “Seinfeld” finale some 26 years ago was so masterful that fans of both shows are wondering if perhaps David will opt to end “Curb” on a similar note.
In a Screenrant.com article, reporter Robert Pitman writes that “’Curb Your Enthusiasm‘s’ connections to ‘Seinfeld’ have been an integral part of the HBO series, with the DNA of the iconic sitcom being seen in various ways throughout ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm.’ Because of this, ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ can pull off the perfect joke by lifting the ending of ‘Seinfeld’ for its own series finale.”
Now, for those who may not be familiar with “Seinfeld’s” ending (26-year-old spoiler coming), the series’ nine seasons culminate with all four main characters — Jerry (Seinfeld), Elaine (Julia Louis-dreyfus, “Veep”), George (Jason Alexander, “Pretty Woman,” 1990) and Kramer (Michael Richards, “Airheads,” 1994) — sitting in a jail cell together for neglecting to stop a robbery. While on trial, they are confronted by the enemies they made over the years, who have come to testify against their characters.
In “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” David certainly made a fair number of his own enemies, so this could be a fun callback. That said, no details have actually surfaced regarding the way the writers plan to end the series.
According to HBO, however, the final season of “Curb” “continues to prove how seemingly trivial details of one’s day-to-day life can precipitate a catastrophic chain of events.”
Additionally, viewers can expect to see the return of many ongoing jokes, bits and recurring characters, including Jeff Garlin (“The Goldbergs”) and Susie Essman (“Cop Out,” 2010) as Jeff and Susie Greene; Cheryl Hines (“Suburgatory”) as Larry’s wife, Cheryl David; J.B. Smoove (“Spider-man: No Way Home,” 2021) as Leon Black;vince Vaughn (“Wedding Crashers,” 2005) as Freddie Funkhouser; Tracey Ullman (“The Tracy Ullman Show”) as Irma Kostoski; and Richard Lewis (“Robin Hood: Men in Tights,” 1993) and Ted Danson (“The Good Place”) as fictionalized versions of themselves.
At the end of the day (or series, as the case would have it), David may not be curbing his own enthusiasm about leaving the other, fictional “Larry David” behind, but HBO and Max content chairman and CEO Casey Bloys notes that not everyone is eager to wrap the production.
“It’s hard to say farewell to such a groundbreaking, brilliantly funny and iconic series like ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm,’ which has left its mark across television and the comedy genre,” Bloys said in a statement. “Working alongside Larry David and Jeff Schaffer as well as all of the comedic masterminds that comprise our producers, cast and crew has been a joy that I will always treasure.”