Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series created, scripted and starring Seinfeld co-creator, writer and executive producer Larry David. It is produced and broadcast by HBO.
Inspired by a 1999 one-hour mockumentary titled Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm, which David and HBO originally envisioned as a one-time project, the series follows David, who plays a fictionalized version of himself, in his life as a semi-retired writer, producer, and actor in Los Angeles.
Curb Your Enthusiasm is "loosely scripted": each episode uses a seven- to eight-page plot outline rather than a script. The plot and subplots of the episode are established in the outline, but the dialogue is improvised by the actors themselves.
The series has been nominated for 34 Primetime Emmy Awards and won the 2002 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.
As of 2010, seven seasons comprising 70 episodes have aired. A ten-episode eighth season is scheduled to air in 2011.
The series stars Larry David as an extreme version of himself, accompanied by fictional re-creations of his actual friends, usually played by themselves. Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Wanda Sykes, and Richard Lewis all have recurring roles as characters based on themselves.
The show is set and filmed in various affluent Westside communities of (and occasionally downtown) Los Angeles, California, as well as the adjacent incorporated cities of Beverly Hills, Culver City and Santa Monica. David's actual place of residence was, and may still be (since his divorce from his wife Laurie), in the Pacific Palisades area of the Westside. During the run of the series, filming has been staged in various rented single-family residences around the Westside.
Although David maintains an office, he is rarely shown working, other than in Season 4 which centered on his being cast as Max Bialystock in the Mel Brooks play The Producers, and in Season 7 writing the Seinfeld reunion. Most of the show revolves around Larry's interactions with his friends and neighbors, with Larry often at odds with the other characters (usually to Larry's detriment). Despite this, the characters do not seem to harbor ill feelings toward each other for any extended period and the cast has stayed stable throughout the show.
David has explained the meaning of the show's title in TV interviews; it reflects 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 style, which is very droll and dry. 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 the phenomenal success of Seinfeld.
Main cast
Larry David – Candid, neurotic, but generally disposed to pursue what he perceives to be the right course, Larry often finds himself in awkward situations that arise as a result of his obstinate belief in his own ethical principles and codes of conduct, which he is nevertheless prepared to bend when it suits him. He usually has good intentions but often finds himself a victim of circumstance and social convention, as many of the people around him are also self-centered and stubborn. He often centers on petty details, to the point that he aggravates everyone around him just to prove an insignificant point, or frustrates his wife by having "small talk" during sex – even when she comes to Larry's house after a long separation, to profess that they "belong together" and kiss, Larry concentrates on the coffee stain rather than the fact that they are back together. The real life Larry David has commented that although he secretly wishes to be more like his fictionalized version on the series, he could never be that way because he is a lot more cautious when it comes to social tension. Larry's trademark behaviors are his probing stare when he doesn't think somebody is telling the truth and saying something is "prett-ay, prett-ay, prett-ay prett-ay good" when he likes it.
Jeff Greene (Jeff Garlin) – One of Larry's closest friends, Jeff is his sympathetic manager whose marital problems and adulterous misadventures entangle Larry in embarrassing situations. Jeff often helps Larry with his problems, but that usually leads to Jeff getting involved with the mess. Jeff and his wife, Susie (Susie Essman), have a daughter named Sammy (Ashly Holloway). While they ultimately love each other, his wife constantly criticizes him on his decisions and weight, while his daughter at times is neutral about her love for her father. Jeff Garlin stated that he truly does not empathize with his character at all and described him as a "pretty evil guy" who has "no morals, no scruples".
Cheryl David (Cheryl Hines) – Larry's long-suffering wife, who often expresses annoyance with his behavior, even in situations beyond his control. She often serves as a voice of reason for him, and helps define the social guidelines that he may have overlooked. Her affection for him has been tested, even resulting in her leaving him for a time, but upon learning that he had put together the Seinfeld reunion just to have a chance to get back with her, she ultimately realizes that they belong together. While her adventures don't usually lead her far off from Larry, she has a few various activities which involve a short amount of time spent acting, and also being an active member of the NRDC.
Among the show's many recurring roles, Susie Essman plays Susie Greene, Jeff's wife, who has a very explosive temper and a filthy mouth. Richard Lewis and Ted Danson play versions of themselves as old friends of Larry's 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 oldest friends. In Seasons 6 and 7, J. B. Smoove appears as Leon Black and Vivica A. Fox appears as Loretta Black, members of a family of hurricane evacuees who stay in Larry's house.
Celebrities, including actors, authors, musicians and athletes, often make guest appearances on the show, usually playing themselves. Some of the more notable guest stars include Mel Brooks, Martin Scorsese, Ben Stiller, David Schwimmer, and the cast of Seinfeld.
Episodes are typically named after an event, object, or person which figures prominently in the plot, similarly to how Seinfeld episodes were named. While each has an individual plot, the individual seasons contain an arc that stretches across all ten episodes. Season one is the only one without a story arc; instead, the style and characters of the show are introduced across a series of mostly isolated episodes.
Many episodes concern breaches of intricate aspects of social conventions, such as introductions, the allowed amount of caviar one may put on a cracker at a house party, whether a house guest needs the permission of the homeowner before taking a soft drink from the refrigerator, whether male airline passengers should wear short pants, and the coordination of restaurant tips. Others involve more significant issues, such as if and when a white person may drop the "n-bomb." And some involve the etiquette of extremely complex and unique circumstances, such as the occasion when Larry discovered at a wake that the deceased was to be buried with his favorite golf club—borrowed from Larry. Another involved Larry picking up a prostitute for the sole purpose of using the High Occupancy Vehicle lane on the freeway.
In many episodes, Curb—like its predecessor Seinfeld—tied together apparently unrelated events woven throughout a given episode into an unforced climax that resolves the story lines simultaneously, either to Larry's advantage or detriment.
In season two, Cheryl is tired of Larry not working, so he begins to develop a new television show, first with guest stars Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as themselves. However, Larry's constant social faux pas ruin all of their chances with every major television network.
In season three, Larry invests in a restaurant enterprise which finally opens despite many mishaps, most of which are Larry's fault.
Mel Brooks casts Larry as the lead in his hit musical The Producers in season four.
Larry's friend Richard Lewis gets very ill in season five and requires a kidney transplant. Larry is a match, but he spends the season looking for other sources of a kidney for Lewis. Also in season five, Larry suspects he may be adopted and embarks on a search to find his "real" parents.
Season six is built around Cheryl persuading Larry to take in a black family that is left homeless after a major Gulf Coast hurricane. Later in the season, Cheryl leaves Larry, mimicking Laurie David's real-life divorce from Larry. He spends the rest of the season either fighting for her to come back or looking for a replacement.
Season seven is loosely centered on creating a Seinfeld reunion show and Larry trying to get back with Cheryl.
Season eight—scheduled to air in 2011—will be set in New York, instead of Los Angeles. Additionally, Ricky Gervais will guest star in at least one episode.
Since its 2000 debut, the show has enjoyed wide critical acclaim and a steadily growing, dedicated audience that has helped it emerge from its early "cult" status. It is the sixth-highest rated TV show on metacritic.com. On that same website, the fifth season ranked 91 based on 5 reviews and the seventh season currently ranks 81 based on 18 reviews.
Slate magazine named the characters of Cheryl David and Susie Greene as two of the best on television and as reasons they were looking forward to the return of the show in fall 2007. Curb Your Enthusiasm has also received praise from Galus Australis magazine for being even more unashamedly Jewish than the Seinfeld series.
The series has received a total of 34 Primetime Emmy Award nominations with one win, for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series for Robert B. Weide for the episode "Krazee-Eyez Killa". The series has received six nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series. Larry David has received four nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Cheryl Hines has received two nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. The series has also received many nominations for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series.
It has received five Golden Globe Award nominations and won for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 2002, while being nominated in 2005. Larry David has been nominated for three Golden Globes for Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series – Musical or Comedy. It has been nominated for four Producers Guild of America Awards and has won twice. It has been nominated for four Screen Actors Guild Awards. It has been nominated for four Writers Guild of America Awards and has won once. It has been nominated for nine Directors Guild of America Awards and has won once for Bryan Gordon for the episode "The Special Section".
In 2003, Juan Catalan, a resident of Los Angeles, was cleared of premeditated murder charges against a material witness (a crime eligible for capital punishment) after outtake footage shot for the "Carpool Lane" episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm showed him and his daughter attending the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Atlanta Braves baseball game some 20 miles from the crime-scene at the time of the murder, resulting in a $320,000 settlement against the City of Los Angeles. Larry David joked afterwards "I like to tell people that I've now done one good thing in my life, albeit inadvertently".
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