Larry David always joked that any season of Curb Your Enthusiasm just might be his last. And this time, he wasn’t kidding around. After 12 seasons across a 24-year period, Curb Your Enthusiasm finally said its goodbyes last Sunday night. It’s a significant moment in television history. Despite the low opinion that he has of himself, or the low opinion that he pretends to have of himself, Larry David has become a legend in the world of comedy. He helped to create two of television’s biggest sitcoms: Seinfeld and, of course, Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Both shows follow the mindless minutia of everyday life, providing humorous and relatable commentary on social situations and relationships. But after Sunday night, the two shows now have another thing in common: the story of their series finale. Seinfeld’s series finale, which was written by Larry David himself, was infamously polarizing — a problem that Larry sought to correct 26 years later, in the series finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
The Legacy of Seinfeld, and its Series Finale
Larry David saw little success from his comedy stand-up or from his brief stint as a writer for Saturday Night Live. It wasn’t until he teamed up with fellow comic Jerry Seinfeld and created Seinfeld in 1989 that David had his first real breakthrough. Seinfeld was an instant hit, a hilarious “show about nothing” that follows the misadventures of four self-absorbed friends. In addition to its relatable, situational humor, the series was aided by its iconic cast.
Jerry Seinfeld played a fictionalized, narcissistic version of himself. Jason Alexander was cast as George Constanza, a neurotic character based on Larry David. Michael Richards, who actually worked with David on ABC’s Fridays, was cast as Kramer, an eccentric character who was inspired by Larry’s real-life neighbor down the hall — a man named Kenny Kramer. And the character of Elaine was portrayed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who briefly worked with Larry on SNL. David himself only appeared in brief cameos and, more famously, as the voice of then-New York Yankees owner, George Steinbrenner.
Seinfeld
- Release Date
- July 5, 1989
- Seasons
- 9
- Studio
- NBC
Seinfeld dominated television ratings throughout the 90s. It isn’t just known as one of TV’s greatest sitcoms; it’s regarded as one of the best shows of all time. But even the world’s greatest sitcom isn’t perfect, which brings us to that polarizing finale. After amicably departing Seinfeld after seven seasons, David returned two years later to pen the two-part finale. Here, Jerry, George, Kramer, and Elaine are arrested for violating the Good Samaritan Law, failing to help a person in need. The four of them are put on a trial that brings Seinfeld’s most iconic supporting characters to the stand, who recount their famous but unpleasant run-ins with the defendants.
In the end, all of their misdeeds and selfish acts catch up with them, and Jerry, George, Kramer, and Elaine are put in prison. While behind bars, the four of them engage in one last meaningless conversation about the placement of buttons on George’s shirt, a call back to the very first conversation in the very first episode of the series. A whopping 76.3 million people tuned in to see what would become of their four favorite narcissists — and many of them were left disappointed.
It was criticized for spending its entirety recounting old jokes and moments while failing to make any new ones, and for going against the lack of moral guidelines that made Seinfeld so great to begin with. As famous as Seinfeld is, its finale is infamously remembered as one of the most disappointing series finales.
Stream Seinfeld on Netflix.
Larry Moves on with Curb Your Enthusiasm
Despite the outcry of disappointed Seinfeld fans, Larry moved on pretty quickly, introducing a new sitcom just two years later. This time, though, he would be the one in front of the camera, playing a fictionalized, obnoxious version of himself, experiencing all the inconveniences and absurdities of life in a post-Seinfeld world. Curb Your Enthusiasm pretty much follows the same formula as Seinfeld, getting rid of the laughing track while adding profanity, courtesy of Larry’s new network, HBO.
It also focuses largely on Larry, though it does include a comical supporting cast that includes Jeff Garlin as Larry’s loyal manager, Cheryl Hines as Larry’s fictional wife, Susie Essman as Jeff’s short-tempered wife, and J. B. Smoove as Larry’s ridiculous housemate, Leon. The result is pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good. And after 12 years, Larry was finally ready to deliver another series finale.
Seinfeld Gets a Redo in Curb’s Series Finale
Curb makes numerous references to Seinfeld throughout its 12 seasons, especially when it comes to its much hated series finale. Multiple characters, including members of the Seinfeld cast like Jerry and Jason Alexander, have told Larry to his face that the finale wasn’t very good. The camera humorously focuses on Larry’s face as he blankly listens to these backhanded comments. He then dives into a short rant defending the finale every time, always claiming, “No, no, that was a good finale!” — an opinion that he apparently holds in real life.
Seinfeld’s abysmal series finale was like a dark cloud that always seemed to hang over Larry’s head, and also over Curb. When it was announced that Curb would be delivering its final season, there was a lot of speculation as to how the series would end. Would Larry botch another series finale? Would Seinfeld somehow be incorporated into the ending? Would Larry use this moment to redo the Seinfeld finale? We finally got our answer last Sunday night.
Season 12’s premise revolves around Larry getting arrested in Atlanta for violating the state’s election integrity law — for giving Leon’s aunt a bottle of water while she waits in line to vote during a hot day. The media praises Larry as a hero. The rest of the season builds up to Larry’s trial, which, of course, takes place during the last episode, titled “No Lessons Learned”.
Larry seemed to take the formula from Seinfeld’s series finale and flip it on its head, having his character arrested for actually being a good Samaritan. The actual trial, however, very much follows the same pattern as the trial for Jerry, George, Kramer, and Elaine. The prosecution, played by Greg Kinnear, summons some of Curb’s most iconic supporting characters to testify and prove that Larry is an indecent human being. And it works. Like Jerry and the gang, Larry’s past deeds finally catch up to him, and he’s sentenced to a year in prison.
At this point, it’s starting to feel like we’ve seen this all before. Curb’s finale feels familiar, even a little unoriginal. We even see Larry behind bars, talking to his neighbor about the lump in his pants. “The pants tent,” he calls it, hearkening back to Larry’s very first scene in Curb’s very first episode. “Wow, is he really about to end Curb the same way as Seinfeld?” we think, baffled. “Is Larry doubling down on this story? Has this man really learned nothing?” But then comes the twist. Who should show up at that moment but Jerry Seinfeld himself, announcing that Larry is now a free man due to a mistrial. “You don’t want to end up like this,” says Jerry, alluding to the finale of his own show.
“Nobody wants to see it.” As the two friends walk out together, Larry has a eureka moment when he turns to Jerry and says, “This is how we should’ve ended the finale.” Of course, he’s 26 years too late. But by ending the show in this way, Larry corrects his past mistake; he pays homage to Seinfeld while also separating it from Curb. The series ends with Larry as a free man, no lessons learned, bickering with the people who made Curb Your Enthusiasm so special. But despite the episode’s title, it does seem like Larry has learned a lesson: never end a show like Seinfeld.
Stream Curb Your Enthusiasm on Max.
