Curb Your Enthusiasm

Curb Your Enthusiasm
Genre	Improvisational comedy Observational comedy
Created by	Larry David
Story by	Larry David
Starring	Larry David Jeff Garlin Cheryl Hines Susie Essman
Theme music composer	Luciano Michelini
Opening theme	"Frolic"
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	8
No. of episodes	80 (plus 60-minute special) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Larry David Jeff Garlin Robert B. Weide Alec Berg David Mandel Jeff Schaffer Larry Charles Gavin Polone Tim Gibbons Erin O'Malley
Location(s)	Los Angeles New York City
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Release
Original network	HBO
Picture format	480i (4:3 SDTV) (2000–07) 1080i (16:9 HDTV) (2009–present)
Original release	October 15, 2000 (2000-10-15) – present (on indefinite hiatus)[1]
External links
Website

Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. It aired 80 episodes over eight seasons, the last of which aired in 2011. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself. The series follows Larry in his life as a semi-retired television writer and producer in Los Angeles and later New York City. Also starring are Cheryl Hines as his wife Cheryl, Jeff Garlin as his manager Jeff, and Susie Essman as Jeff's wife Susie. Curb Your Enthusiasm often features guest stars, and many of these appearances are by celebrities playing versions of themselves fictionalized to varying degrees.

The plots and subplots of the episodes are established in an outline written by David and the dialogue is largely improvised by the actors^[2] (a technique known as retroscripting). As with Seinfeld, the subject matter in Curb Your Enthusiasm often involves the minutiae of daily life, and plots often revolve around Larry David's many faux pas and his problems with certain social conventions and expectations, as well as his annoyance with other people's behavior. The character has a hard time letting such annoyances go unexpressed, which often leads him into awkward situations.

The series was developed from a 1999 one-hour special, Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm, which David and HBO originally envisioned as a one-time project. The special was shot as a mockumentary, where the characters were aware of the presence of cameras and a crew. The series itself is not a mock documentary but is shot in a somewhat similar cinéma vérité-like style.^[2] Curb Your Enthusiasm has received high critical acclaim, and has grown in popularity since its debut. It has been nominated for 38 Primetime Emmy Awards, and Robert B. Weide received an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for the episode "Krazee Eyez Killa". The show won the 2002 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.^[3]

The series is on an indefinite hiatus, and Larry David said in December 2014 regarding a ninth season of the series that "the odds are against it".^[1]

Concept

The series stars Larry David as an extreme fictionalized version of himself. Like the real-life David, the character is well known in the entertainment industry as the co-creator and main co-writer of the highly successful sitcom Seinfeld. For most of the series, the Larry David character is living a married-without-children life in Los Angeles with his wife Cheryl (played by Cheryl Hines). David's main confidant on the show is his manager, Jeff Greene (played by Curb executive producer Jeff Garlin), who has a temperamental wife, Susie (Susie Essman). A large portion of the show's many guest stars are celebrities and public figures, such as actors, comedians, sportspeople, and politicians, who play themselves. These include David's longtime friend Richard Lewis, as well as Ted Danson and his wife Mary Steenburgen, who all have recurring roles as fictionalized versions of themselves.

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 also featured in some episodes, most prominently in the eighth season.

Although David maintains an office, he leads a semiretired life in the series, and is rarely shown working regularly, other than in season four, which centered on his being cast as the lead in the Mel Brooks musical The Producers, and in season seven, writing a Seinfeld reunion show. Most of the series revolves around David's interactions with his friends and acquaintances, with David often at odds with the other characters, usually to his 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.

Title

David has explained the show's title 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 Seinfeld's phenomenal success.^[4]

Characters

Creator Larry David stars as a fictional version of himself. He also serves as executive producer and writes the story for each episode.

Jeff Garlin also serves as an executive producer and has directed an episode of the series.

Main cast

• Larry David (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, and stubbornly holds to his opinion to the extent of aggravating everyone around him just to prove an insignificant point. 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.^[5] Larry's trademark behaviors are his probing stare when he doesn't think somebody is telling the truth, fondly saying something is "prett-ay, prett-ay, prett-ay, pretty good" and, when caught up short in a moment of poor or contrary behavior, quizzically and mock-innocently inquiring, often of his wife, Cheryl, or of a close friend, "No good?" Among Larry's characteristics are his love of playing golf and his annoyance at having to engage in small talk ("stop and chat"), especially with people he deals with in commercial situations, such as waiters and tradesmen.

• 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 entangled in the mess. Jeff and his wife, Susie (Susie Essman), have a daughter named Sammi (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^[6] and described him as a "pretty evil guy" who has "no morals, no scruples".^[7]

• Cheryl David (Cheryl Hines) – Cheryl is Larry's long-suffering wife and later ex-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. While her adventures never led her far off from Larry, she has various activities outside day-to-day married life, including an acting stint, and, more sustainably, as an advocate of environmental issues, including being a member of and fundraiser for the NRDC. Her affection for Larry has been tested, even resulting in her leaving him for a time; upon learning that he had put together the Seinfeld reunion just to have a chance to get back with her, she sees it as a sign of their "belong[ing] together", but soon decides to file for divorce when Larry concentrates on a coffee stain incident rather than the fact that they are back together, refusing yet again to listen to her. They divorce in the season eight premiere episode (which is Cheryl Hines' final appearance on the series to date).

• Susie Greene (Susie Essman) – Jeff's shrill, but ultimately good-hearted wife, known for her explosive temper and her filthy mouth. Consequently, her reactions to Larry range from near violence via benign grievances to occasionally fonder repartee. She routinely berates Larry and Jeff with profanity-laced tirades after uncovering one of their schemes. Susie and Jeff have an "on-again, off-again" relationship. She often uses Larry as a scapegoat for her marital problems. She is known to refer to Larry as "Larry Fucking David" and "Four-Eyed Fuck" and when he crosses her, she is known to respond "Fuck you, Larry David!", while her common expletive to her husband is "You fat piece of shit!" She often serves to enforce traditional moral standards such as the sanctity of marital vows and fealty to hearth and home, at times versus her husband, at others versus Larry and usually versus both. Susie Essman was upgraded from guest star billing to main cast billing beginning with season eight.

Recurring roles

Among the show's many recurring roles, Richard Lewis, Ted Danson, and Wanda Sykes play fictionalized 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 Funkhauser, another of Larry's oldest friends. Kaitlin Olson recurred as Becky, Cheryl's sister. In seasons six and seven, 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 eventually becomes Larry's primary love interest for a time once he and Cheryl split up. J. B. Smoove appears as Leon Black, a member of the Black family and Larry's accidental roommate, in seasons six, seven, and eight.

Notable guest appearances

Celebrities, including actors, comedians, authors, musicians and athletes, often make guest appearances on the show, with a large portion of them playing themselves, or fictional versions thereof. Some of these guest stars are Mary Steenburgen, Mel Brooks, Michael York, Martin Scorsese, Ben Stiller, Martin Short, Lucy Lawless, David Schwimmer, Shaquille O'Neal, Rosie O'Donnell, Ricky Gervais, Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan, Hugh Hefner, Alanis Morissette, Bill Buckner, Mookie Wilson and the main cast of Seinfeld – Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander and Michael Richards. Notable people who filled in fictional roles include Bob Odenkirk, Bea Arthur, Dustin Hoffman, Sacha Baron Cohen, Stephen Colbert and Steve Coogan.

Episodes

Larry David with the cast of Seinfeld during the reunion in the seventh season

Curb Your Enthusiasm episodes are typically named after an event, object, or person which figures prominently in the plot, similarly to how Seinfeld episodes were named. Many episodes concern breaches of intricate aspects of social conventions, such as the various details of tipping at restaurants,^{[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3]} the obligation to "stop and chat" upon meeting an acquaintance,^{[lower-alpha 4]} the allowed amount of caviar one may put on a cracker at a house party,^{[lower-alpha 5]} whether a house guest needs the permission of the homeowner before taking a soft drink from the refrigerator.^{[lower-alpha 6]} Others involve more significant issues, such as if and when a white person may say the racially sensitive word "nigger".^{[lower-alpha 7]} 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.^{[lower-alpha 8]} Another involved Larry picking up a prostitute for the sole purpose of using the carpool lane on the freeway.^{[lower-alpha 9]} 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.

While each episode has a distinct individual plot, most seasons feature a story arc that extends across several episodes throughout the season and culminates in a season finale that often features the return of many of the characters that appeared throughout the season.^[8][9]

Season 1 (2000)

The style and the characters of the show are introduced across a series of mostly isolated episodes, in one of only two seasons (along with season 8) without a major story arc.

Season 2 (2001)

Cheryl is tired of Larry not working, so he begins to develop a new television show, initially with guest stars Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (George and Elaine on Seinfeld, respectively) as themselves. But Larry's constant social faux pas ruin the chances of the show being financed by a major television network.

Season 3 (2002)

Larry invests in a restaurant enterprise which finally opens despite many mishaps, most of which are Larry's fault.

Season 4 (2004)

Mel Brooks casts Larry as the lead in his hit musical The Producers. Cheryl also gives Larry the opportunity to have sex with another woman before their tenth anniversary as an anniversary gift.

Season 5 (2005)

Larry's friend Richard Lewis gets very ill and requires a kidney transplant. Larry is a match, but 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 for his biological parents.

Season 6 (2007)

The season is built around Cheryl persuading Larry to take in a 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 another woman.

Season 7 (2009)

Season seven is centered on creating a Seinfeld reunion show with the original cast. Larry attempts to use the project as a means to reunite with Cheryl.

Season 8 (2011)

Larry remains single after his divorce. At the midpoint of the season, all the main characters travel to New York City, where the rest of the season is set.

Future

HBO said in July 2011 that it is "cautiously optimistic" that David will do a ninth season. The network's president of programming, Michael Lombardo, commented, "For the first time ever after this season Larry didn't say, 'I never want to do this again.'"^[10]

In July 2013, at the Television Critics Association press tour, David said regarding a ninth season: "I have not [decided]. I don't know. I really don't know. I couldn't say. Ask me in six months."^[11]

David said in December 2014, "I guess, right now, the odds would be against it, probably 6 to 1." He added he also did not anticipate a finale special, saying, "I got so much grief from the Seinfeld finale, which a lot of people intensely disliked, that I no longer feel a need to wrap things up. … I wouldn't say I’m mad about it, but it taught me a lesson that if I ever did another show, I wasn't going to wrap it up."^[1]

In July 2015 at the Television Critics Association press tour, HBO programming chief Michael Lombardo expressed optimism for the future of Curb, saying that he had seen David before the start of his Broadway show, Fish in the Dark, and that he pointed to a notebook and told Lombardo that it was the next season of Curb. Lombardo said, "I don't think it's out of [Larry's] system, I think he wants to have something to say."^[12]

Critical reception

Curb Your Enthusiasm is one of the most acclaimed television shows of the 2000s, praised particularly for its writing and the comedic improvisational skills of the actors. The show has enjoyed largely positive critical reception since its debut and a steadily growing, dedicated audience that helped it emerge from its early "cult" status.

On Metacritic, the first season of the show scored 80 out of 100 (based on 20 reviews),^[13] 93 for season 3 (based on 12 reviews),^[14] 88 for season 4 (18 reviews),^[15] 91 for season 5 (five reviews),^[16] 89 for season 6 (nine reviews),^[17] 81 for season 7 (18 reviews)^[18] and 86 for season 8 (six reviews).^[19]

Slate named the characters of Cheryl David and Susie Greene as two of the best on television and as reasons to look forward to the return of the show in the fall of 2007.^[20] Curb Your Enthusiasm has also received praise from Galus Australis magazine for being even more unabashedly Jewish than the Seinfeld series.^[21]

Of the show's depiction of Jewish characters, academic Vincent Brook stated, "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."^[22]

The character of Larry on the show is in many ways reminiscent of the schlemiel character often present 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." Gillota also observed: "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."^[23]

Awards and nominations

The series has received a total of 39 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning twice for Outstanding Directing in 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 has received seven nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series. Larry David has received five nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Cheryl Hines has received two nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Shelley Berman and Michael J. Fox have each received a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. The series has also received ten nominations for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series.^[24]

The series has also received five Golden Globe Award nominations and won for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 2003, while being nominated in 2006. Larry David has been nominated for three Golden Globes for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 2003, 2005, and 2006.^[25] It has been nominated for four Screen Actors Guild Awards, two for Larry David and two for the ensemble cast.^[26][27] It has been nominated six times for the Producers Guild of America Award, winning twice in 2003 and 2005.^[28] It has been 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.^[29] It has been nominated fives times for the Writers Guild of America Award, winning once in 2006.^[30]

Juan Catalan incident

In 2003, Juan Catalan, a resident of Los Angeles, was cleared of murder charges against a material witness (a crime eligible for capital punishment), after outtake footage shot for "The Car Pool 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.^[31] Larry David joked afterwards, "I like to tell people that I've now done one good thing in my life, albeit inadvertently."

Syndication

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: The Discussion" debating the moral implications depicted in each episode.^[32] The show was also syndicated on local stations and WGN America,^[33] but has been removed from syndication from both outlets due to low ratings.^[34] It debuted on TV Land in February 2013.^[35]

Media

DVD releases

Curb Your Enthusiasm seasons come in a two-disc DVD set with ten episodes, with the exception of the release of season one encoded for region two, which contains three discs.

Book

A Curb Your Enthusiasm book was released 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.^[36]

Music

The show is punctuated between scenes with music orchestrated by Wendell Yuponce and from a music library company called Killer Tracks.^[37] 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.^[38] An unofficial soundtrack was released by Mellowdrama Records in 2006.^[39]

Notes

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Curb Your Enthusiasm

• Official website
• Curb Your Enthusiasm at the Internet Movie Database
• Curb Your Enthusiasm at TV.com