Curb Your Enthusiasm | |
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Genre | |
Created by | Larry David |
Starring |
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Theme music composer | Luciano Michelini |
Opening theme | "Frolic" |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 12 |
No. of episodes | 120 (plus 1 special) (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Production locations | |
Camera setup | Single-camera |
Running time | 26–59 minutes [1] |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | HBO |
Release | October 17, 1999 – April 7, 2024 |
Related | |
Seinfeld |
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American television comedy of manners [2] [3] created by Larry David that aired on HBO from October 17, 1999, to April 7, 2024. David stars as a fictionalized version of himself and it follows his life as a semi-retired television writer and producer in Los Angeles and, for one season, New York City. Also starring are Cheryl Hines as his wife Cheryl, Jeff Garlin as his manager and best friend Jeff Greene, Susie Essman as Jeff's wife Susie, and J. B. Smoove as Larry's housemate Leon Black. It often features celebrity guest stars, many of them playing fictionalized versions of themselves, including Ted Danson, Richard Lewis, Wanda Sykes, Rosie O'Donnell, and Jon Hamm.
The sitcom was developed from a 1999 one-hour special, Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm , which David and HBO originally envisioned as a one-time project. It was shot as a mockumentary, in which the characters were aware of the presence of cameras and a crew. The series, while not in documentary form, was shot in a somewhat similar cinéma vérité-like style. [4] As with Seinfeld , which David co-created, the humor of Curb Your Enthusiasm often revolves around the minutiae of everyday social life. Each episode's plot and subplot is established in an outline written by David, and the actors largely improvise the dialogue, [4] a technique known as retroscripting. In Season 7, the series began producing and airing episodes in high definition.
Curb Your Enthusiasm received high critical acclaim and has grown in popularity since its debut. It was nominated for 55 Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series for eleven of its twelve seasons. [5] It won the 2002 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. [6] It aired for eight mostly consecutive seasons until 2011, and resumed with a ninth season in 2017. The tenth season aired in 2020 and the eleventh in 2021. The series was renewed for a twelfth and final season that premiered on February 4, 2024, and the series finale aired on April 7, 2024.
Larry David has explained the show's name in TV interviews as reflecting his perception that many people seem to live their lives projecting false enthusiasm, which he believes is used to imply that "they are better than you". This conflicts with his dry style. The title also urges the audience not to expect too much from the show; at the time of the premiere, David wanted to lower expectations after his earlier success in the entertainment industry. [7]
The series stars David as a fictionalized version of himself. Like the real-life David, the character is well known as a co-creator and main co-writer of the sitcom Seinfeld . Although Larry maintains an office, he is rarely shown working. Episodes frequently center on his ignorance of or disregard for well-established social conventions and expectations, and his insistence that others adhere to rules of which only he seems to be aware. This social ineptitude, combined with an inability to let even the most minor grievance or annoyance go unexpressed, often leads him into awkward social situations and draws the ire of his friends, family, and total strangers. He is also routinely the victim of labyrinthine misunderstandings wherein people think he has done something immoral or distasteful.
For the first half of the series, David is living a married, child-free life in Los Angeles with his wife, Cheryl (Cheryl Hines). His main confidant on the show is his manager and friend Jeff Greene (Jeff Garlin). Susie Essman plays Susie Greene, Jeff's short-tempered wife, who is frequently at odds with Larry. Many of the show's frequent guest stars are celebrities and public figures, who usually play fictionalized versions of themselves. Among the more frequently recurring guest stars are Larry's longtime friend Richard Lewis as well as Ted Danson and his wife Mary Steenburgen.
The show is set and filmed in various affluent Westside communities of (and occasionally in downtown) Los Angeles, as well as in the adjacent cities of Beverly Hills, Culver City, and Santa Monica. David's hometown of New York City is featured in some of season 8.
Curb Your Enthusiasm premiered with an hour-long special on October 17, 1999, upon which the series was based. The series' first eight seasons aired from 2000 to 2011. The series took a prolonged hiatus before returning for a ninth season in 2017, a tenth in 2020, [8] and an eleventh in 2021. [9] It was renewed for a twelfth season in August 2022, [10] which was confirmed to be the final season in December 2023. [11] The final season premiered on February 4, 2024. [12]
The episodes are typically named after an event, object, or person that figures prominently in the plot, much as Seinfeld episodes were titled. Unrelated events woven throughout an episode are tied into a climax that resolves the story lines simultaneously, to Larry's advantage or detriment. Each episode has a distinct plot, but most seasons feature a story arc that extends across several episodes and culminates in a finale that often features the return of many of the characters who appeared throughout the season. [13] [14]
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | |||
Special | 1 | October 17, 1999 | ||
1 | 10 | October 15, 2000 | December 17, 2000 | |
2 | 10 | September 23, 2001 | November 25, 2001 | |
3 | 10 | September 15, 2002 | November 17, 2002 | |
4 | 10 | January 4, 2004 | March 14, 2004 | |
5 | 10 | September 25, 2005 | December 4, 2005 | |
6 | 10 | September 9, 2007 | November 11, 2007 | |
7 | 10 | September 20, 2009 | November 22, 2009 | |
8 | 10 | July 10, 2011 | September 11, 2011 | |
9 | 10 | October 1, 2017 | December 3, 2017 | |
10 | 10 | January 19, 2020 | March 22, 2020 | |
11 | 10 | October 24, 2021 | December 26, 2021 | |
12 | 10 | February 4, 2024 | April 7, 2024 |
Among the show's many recurring roles, Richard Lewis, Ted Danson, and Wanda Sykes play fictionalized versions of themselves as old friends of Larry with whom he frequently butts heads. Shelley Berman plays Larry's father, Nat David. Bob Einstein frequently appears as Marty Funkhouser, another of Larry's longtime friends. Kaitlin Olson recurs as Becky, Cheryl's sister. In seasons 6 and 7, Vivica A. Fox appears as Loretta Black, a member of the Black family, a family of hurricane evacuees who take refuge in Larry's house upon Cheryl's invitation. Loretta becomes Larry's primary love interest for a time after he and Cheryl split up. Saverio Guerra plays Mocha Joe, who first appears in season 7 and returns as Larry's nemesis in season 10.
Celebrities, including actors, comedians, authors, musicians and athletes, often make guest appearances on the show, many of them playing themselves or fictional versions thereof. Some who appear as fictionalized versions of themselves include Mary Steenburgen, Mel Brooks, Michael York, Martin Scorsese, Lucy Liu, Ben Stiller, Christian Slater, David Schwimmer, Rob Reiner, Rosie O'Donnell, Seth Rogen, Shaquille O'Neal, George Lopez, Michael J. Fox, Mila Kunis, Lin-Manuel Miranda, F. Murray Abraham, and the main cast of Seinfeld – Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards.
Notable people who fill in fictional roles include Bryan Cranston, Bob Odenkirk, Michael McKean, Wayne Federman, Gina Gershon, Elisabeth Shue, Vince Vaughn, Bobby Lee, Frank Whaley, Kaley Cuoco, Mayim Bialik, Stephen Colbert, Bill Hader, Catherine O'Hara, Nick Offerman, Flula Borg, Chaz Bono, Rebecca Romijn, Melissa McCarthy, Tracey Ullman, Steve Buscemi, Greg Kinnear, Dean Norris, Zachary Levi, Mindy Kaling, and Allison Janney.
Season | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
---|---|---|
1 | 89% (18 reviews) [17] | 80 (20 reviews) |
2 | 100% (8 reviews) [18] | — |
3 | 100% (10 reviews) [19] | 93 (12 reviews) |
4 | 93% (14 reviews) [20] | 88 (18 reviews) |
5 | 100% (11 reviews) [21] | 91 (5 reviews) |
6 | 87% (15 reviews) [22] | 89 (9 reviews) |
7 | 97% (32 reviews) [23] | 81 (18 reviews) |
8 | 92% (25 reviews) [24] | 86 (6 reviews) |
9 | 74% (47 reviews) [25] | 74 (10 reviews) |
10 | 94% (36 reviews) [26] | 78 (5 reviews) |
11 | 94% (17 reviews) [27] | 89 (7 reviews) |
12 | 94% (50 reviews) [28] | 82 (17 reviews) |
Curb Your Enthusiasm has received critical acclaim, praised particularly for its writing and the actors' improvisational comedy. The show enjoyed largely positive critical reception since its debut and outgrew its early "cult" status.
On Metacritic, the first season of the show scored 80 out of 100 (based on 20 reviews), [29] 93 for season 3 (based on 12 reviews), [30] 88 for season 4 (18 reviews), [31] 91 for season 5 (5 reviews), [32] 89 for season 6 (9 reviews), [33] 81 for season 7 (18 reviews), [34] 86 for season 8 (6 reviews), [35] 74 for season 9 (10 reviews), [36] 78 for season 10 (5 reviews), [37] 89 for season 11 (7 reviews), [38] and 82 for season 12 (17 reviews). [39]
Slate named the characters Cheryl David and Susie Greene two of the best on television and reasons to look forward to the show's return in 2007. [40] Curb Your Enthusiasm has also received praise from Galus Australis magazine for being even more unabashedly Jewish than Seinfeld . [41] Of the show's depiction of Jewish characters, academic Vincent Brook wrote, "Curb's commitment to Jewish identification greatly enhances its storytelling capacity, as it lends greater realism and dimension to the characters and opens the show up to episodes with meaningful Jewish themes." [42]
The character of Larry is in many ways reminiscent of the schlemiel character in traditional Yiddish folklore. The schlemiel is usually a comic character whose actions lead to his inevitable downfall, but also stands as a form of resistance to social and cultural values and norms. David Gillota wrote:
As a true schlemiel, Larry's failure serves as a direct challenge to the status quo and encourages viewers to question the myriad unwritten rules that we follow in our everyday lives. Whereas the schlemiel of Eastern Europe encountered problems that mostly affected Eastern European Jews (such as anti-Semitism and economic survival), Larry encounters problems that affect contemporary middle- to upper-class American Jews, namely, Jewish assimilation, secularism, intermarriage, and, as all of these suggest, the Jews' precarious ethnic identity in an increasingly multicultural environment. [43]
In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked Curb Your Enthusiasm #30 on its list of the 101 Best Written TV Series. [44] In 2016, Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone ranked Curb Your Enthusiasm the 19th-greatest television series ever made. [45]
The series received 55 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning twice: Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for Robert B. Weide for "Krazee-Eyez Killa" in 2003, and Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series for Steven Rasch for "Palestinian Chicken" in 2012. The series received eleven nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series. Larry David received seven nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Cheryl Hines received two nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Shelley Berman and Michael J. Fox each received a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. The series also received ten nominations for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series. [5] The ninth season received four nominations at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards, for Outstanding Comedy Series, Larry David for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, and Bryan Cranston and Lin-Manuel Miranda each for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. [46] The tenth season was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, and the series received three further nominations in technical categories. [47]
The series also received five Golden Globe Award nominations (in 2003 and 2006) and won for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 2003. Larry David was nominated for three Golden Globes for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 2003, 2005, and 2006. [48] It was nominated for four Screen Actors Guild Awards, two for Larry David and two for the ensemble cast. [49] [50] It was nominated six times for the Producers Guild of America Award, winning twice in 2003 and 2005. [51] It was nominated for eleven Directors Guild of America Awards, winning twice for Bryan Gordon for "The Special Section" in 2003 and Robert B. Weide for "Palestinian Chicken" in 2012. [52] It was nominated five times for the Writers Guild of America Award, winning once in 2006. [53]
When aired in syndication, the series is edited from its original HBO broadcast (for running time and without the TV-MA scenes). On June 2, 2010, the series premiered on the TV Guide Network, making its basic cable debut. The network also recorded a series of related discussions with high-profile guest stars, media pundits, and prominent social figures called Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Discussion, debating the moral implications depicted in each episode. [54] The show was produced by Scott Carter and hosted by Curb co-star Susie Essman. [55]
The show debuted in syndication on local stations and WGN America in September 2010, [56] but was removed the following year due to low ratings. [57]
It debuted on TV Land in February 2013 but was later removed in 2015. [58]
The first season of Curb Your Enthusiasm was released on VHS in a three-volume box set. [59]
Curb Your Enthusiasm seasons come in a two-disc DVD set with ten episodes.
Season | Release dates | Bonus features | |
---|---|---|---|
Region 1 [60] | Region 2 | ||
1 | January 13, 2004 | May 17, 2004 | Commentary by Larry David, Jeff Garlin, Cheryl Hines and Robert B. Weide on the pilot episode; interview with Larry David; HBO TV special Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm |
2 | June 15, 2004 | October 18, 2004 | None |
3 | January 18, 2005 | February 7, 2005 | 60 minutes of extras with the cast and directors at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen |
4 | August 30, 2005 | September 26, 2005 | None |
5 | August 1, 2006 | September 11, 2006 | "The History of Curb... so far" and "The History of Curb... even further" featurettes |
6 | January 29, 2008 | June 9, 2008 | "A Conversation with Larry David and Susie Essman"; "On the Set: Curb Your Enthusiasm"; gag reel |
7 | June 8, 2010 | June 7, 2010 | Rebuilding the Seinfeld sets; Larry David as George Costanza; interview with Larry David and the Seinfeld cast, and more |
8 | June 5, 2012 | June 11, 2012 | "Leon's Guide to NYC"; roundtable discussion with Larry and the cast |
9 | March 6, 2018 | March 5, 2018 | Cast memorable moments and deleted scenes |
10 | July 21, 2020 [61] | July 20, 2020 [62] | "What Finally Broke Them" |
11 | June 14, 2022 [63] | June 13, 2022 | None |
12 | October 8, 2024 [64] | October 7, 2024 [65] | |
The Complete Series | October 8, 2024 [64] | October 7, 2024 [66] | See individual releases |
A Curb Your Enthusiasm book was released on October 19, 2006, published by Gotham Books. The book contains stories from Larry David's past, original interviews and commentary, episode outlines, episode guide, and over 100 full-color photographs. The contents of the book span the first five seasons of the show. [67]
The show is punctuated between scenes with music orchestrated by Wendell Yuponce and from a music library company called Killer Tracks. [68] Frequently heard are instrumental arrangements of the whimsical "Three Little Maids From School Are We" from The Mikado , and the rhythmic Gypsy dance "Les tringles des sistres tintaient" from Carmen .
The opening and closing theme song (not mentioned in the credits) is "Frolic" by Italian composer Luciano Michelini . Larry David heard the music used in a bank commercial years before the show was created and thought it had a lighthearted, joyful quality. [69] An unofficial soundtrack was released by Mellowdrama Records in 2006. [70]
The 2017 Netflix documentary film Long Shot contains raw footage from the filming of an episode of season 4 at Dodger Stadium which helped to inadvertently exonerate Juan Catalan, who was accused of murder and faced the death penalty, by giving him an alibi during the time the murder was committed. [71]
The show's main theme has been used as a meme, paired with clips of people in awkward situations. [72] [73]
Lawrence Gene David is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He and Jerry Seinfeld created the NBC television sitcom Seinfeld, of which David was head writer and executive producer for the first seven seasons. He gained further recognition for creating and writing the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, in which he also stars as a fictionalized version of himself. David's work on Seinfeld won him two Primetime Emmy Awards in 1993, for Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Comedy Series; he was nominated 17 other times.
The Larry Sanders Show is an American television sitcom set in the office and studio of a fictional late-night talk show. Created by Garry Shandling and Dennis Klein, the show ran for six seasons and 90 episodes on the HBO cable television network from August 15, 1992, to May 31, 1998.
Cheryl Hines is an American actress and director known for her role, Cheryl, in HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000–2024), for which she received two Emmy Award nominations. She has also starred as Dallas Royce on the ABC sitcom Suburgatory (2011–2014), and made her directorial debut with the 2009 film Serious Moonlight. Hines is the wife of lawyer and former 2024 United States presidential candidate, and United States Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Robert B. Weide is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. He has directed a number of documentaries and was the principal director and an executive producer of Curb Your Enthusiasm for the show's first five years. His documentaries have focused on four comedians: W. C. Fields, Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce, and Woody Allen. His latest documentary, Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time (2021), explores the life and works of Kurt Vonnegut.
Larry Charles is an American comedian, screenwriter, director, actor, and producer. He was a staff writer for the sitcom Seinfeld for its first five seasons. He has also directed the documentary film Religulous and the mockumentary comedy films Borat, Brüno, and The Dictator. His Netflix documentary series Larry Charles' Dangerous World of Comedy premiered in 2019.
Susan Essman is an American actress, comedian, producer and writer. She is best known for her role as Susie Greene on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Bobbi Wexler on Broad City, and the voice of Mittens in Bolt.
Jerry Angelo Brooks, commonly known by his stage name J. B. Smoove, is an American actor, comedian and writer. After beginning his career in 1995 on Def Comedy Jam, he was a writer and performer on NBC's Saturday Night Live (2003–06). He is best known for his starring roles on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm (2007–24) and the CBS sitcom The Millers (2013–15). He also portrayed a fictionalized version of himself on the BET improv-comedy reality television parody Real Husbands of Hollywood (2013–16).
Shmohawk or schmohawk is a slang term that might have derived from schmo, a slang term meaning fool. The HBO television show Curb Your Enthusiasm gave the word recent notoriety. Earlier uses of the word can be found in the Crusader Rabbit animated cartoon "Crusader and the Schmohawk Indians", released in 1950 and in Saul Bellow's 1958 novel Henderson the Rain King.
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Hacks is an American comedy-drama television series created by Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky that premiered on May 13, 2021, on HBO Max. Starring Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, and Carl Clemons-Hopkins, the series centers on the professional relationship between a young comedy writer and a legendary stand-up comedian. In June 2021, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on May 12, 2022. In June 2022, the series was renewed for a third season, which premiered on May 2, 2024. In May 2024, the series was renewed for a fourth season.
"Frolic" is a song composed by Luciano Michelini, an Italian composer. It was composed in 1974 for the film La bellissima estate, where it was used to represent the character of the barone rosso. "Frolic" is better known as the theme from the American sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm. It was chosen by the series' creator, Larry David, who had heard the music in a bank advertisement four years prior. Apart from that, "Frolic" has been used as backing music for several advertisements, and in a rap song by Snoop Dogg.
"No Lessons Learned" is the series finale of the American television sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm. It is the tenth episode of the twelfth season and the 120th episode overall of the series. The episode was directed by executive producer Jeff Schaffer, with the story written by series creator and star Larry David and Schaffer. The episode first aired on HBO in the United States on April 7, 2024, and was also available on Max on the same date.