When Curb Your Enthusiasm ended its 24-year run in 2024, fans feared it would be the last time they would see Larry David on screen. He said the HBO sitcom would be ending for most of the series, but he finally announced it would end with season 12. (“I’ve said it before,” he told Variety at the time. “But I wasn’t 76 when I said it.”)
But his longtime collaborator Jeff Schaefer, who joined Seinfeld as a writer in his early 20s and went on to become a major behind-the-scenes force on Curve, always knew David would return to television.
“I think we’re like a swarm of locusts, but we don’t have to wait 17 years,” he said on Zoom ahead of the premiere of “Life, Rally and the Pursuit of Misadventures,” a historical sketch comedy show he describes as “Curb in costume.” (Shafer co-produced the project with David and directed all seven episodes.)
The series, which premiered on HBO on June 26, is executive produced by Barack Obama, who also appears in the sketches. In typical David fashion, the “Curve” star plays selfish, narrow-minded, filterless men throughout history. For every Founding Father trying to liberate the colonies from British tyranny, there was Larry (often referred to here as Lawrence) who suggested that sharing desserts and umbrellas should be banned in the Declaration of Independence. And in this version of history, Larry takes Rosa Parks’ position when a white bus driver demands that she give up her seat. Not because Larry cares about civil rights, but because he’s sitting in the aisle and won’t stand up.
In other words, while this show is a celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, it’s a bit of a cake smear in the country’s face.
I never thought we’d see another project from you and Larry so soon after “Curb.”
“Curb” was over and we were tossing around some ideas. Then something like this appeared. Larry would give up any opportunity to do what was given to him. He is a great pioneer. But he was interested in this piece, so we just started writing it.
When you say this idea “appeared,” it came from the Obamas, right?
Higher Ground’s Ethan Lewis reached out on behalf of the Obamas. They wanted to do something for the 250th anniversary, and Larry, an American history buff, was intrigued by the idea of Larry going through history. To be honest, this kind of started a few years ago when we did a commercial for FTX. Lovely people, I don’t know what happened to them. Basically, Larry went back through the history of the world and abandoned every great invention. He remembered how much he loved wearing costumes and forgot how much he hated wearing wigs.
So Larry immediately took notice of the idea. Just like Larry rarely pays attention to anything. It helps that he and President Obama have a really good relationship, as you can see on the show. From the first meeting, it was like, “We have to bring these two together on screen.”
Jeff Schaefer and Larry David at the premiere of “Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Misfortune.”
Getty Images for HBO
When “Curve” ended, there was concern among fans that Larry would be done with television production. You never shared that concern.
Larry can’t sit still. It’s like a prostitute who has sex outside of work. He is always writing or thinking about something. Actually, we were at the stage where we were starting to think about what else we should do after “Curb.” There was a movie that we were thinking about, and we were also thinking about the possibility of a limited series, which seemed appealing for a number of reasons. One, they were working with the Obamas, and two, the show had a deadline. I had to do it by the 250th time.
The idea of turning it into an event was appealing to us. We said we’d do six episodes and that’s it. It didn’t feel like it had as much weight as a series where you have to worry about season 2 or season 3. It was just a lark. But we ended up doing so many sketches that we made seven episodes. Frankly, what’s really appealing about Larry is that he loves American history. he studies it This is a man who keeps his Gettysburg address in his bathroom.
Is that really true?
Yes, his office bathroom has a Gettysburg address posted on it. That’s where the “Curb” bit was born. He doesn’t want to waste time urinating. Like his pissing, the fallen soldiers at Gettysburg will not be in vain.
“Life, Larry…” has a very “Curb” feel to it. Were the other ideas you and Larry considered, a movie and a limited series, similar?
We haven’t strayed too far from the “Curb” feel. Larry still has ideas. I always say, “We’ll work until you can walk outside and stop bothering your colleagues.” So the question is, “What kind of vessel do you put that idea into?” Is the idea of “Curve” a fun movie? Limited series or historical sketch comedy?
Since “Seinfeld,” Larry’s comedy has always been “big things, little things.” It’s like, “Hey, we’re going to make our own pilot. Wait, who stole the raisins?” There’s always a juxtaposition between the big things you should care about and the little things that somehow dominate your attention. As we grapple with these historical events that we all know about, big things are already in front of us. So we can just have fun with the little things, and that juxtaposition really tickled Larry.
How scripted is this show compared to the schematic structure of “Curb”?
The writing process and filming process was very similar to “Curb.” There was no complete script, just an outline. There were probably a few more lines for the historical stuff, but it’s still just an overview. And some fun people came to hang out with Larry. All of them attended one day, but Kathryn Hahn was the only one who attended two days due to location. So there’s an outline and every scene is rewritten live, just like on “Curb.” What was different was the shooting method. This is much more cinematic than “Curb.” Larry didn’t want them to feel like sketches. He wanted them to feel like short films or small movies. We are in the field – built World War I trenches and Wright Flyers. Our production and costume teams worked hard to make it look as authentic as possible. And then we drop Larry off and just watch all hell break loose.
Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld as Lewis and Clark in “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Misfortune”
HBO
Was there any casting that immediately struck you during brainstorming?
We started by writing down a list of big and small events and asking ourselves, “Which one will I focus on today?” One of the first things that becomes clear is that Larry is the guy who told Lincoln to go see that play. We knew from the beginning how it was going to play out, and Larry was like, “Kathryn Hahn needs to play Mary Todd Lincoln, and it would be interesting if Bill Hader was Lincoln.” When we started writing about Lewis and Clark, it was about boys’ weekends. It had a “Honeymoon” feel to it, so we thought, “Let’s give Larry and Jerry a ’50s sitcom feel.”
Were there any historical events that you researched but ultimately couldn’t find an opening to?
We played with Yalta for a while. We wrote and rewrote the Gold Rush sketch, but we didn’t know the ending. We have added a new ending, but it is not included in the show. There were some interesting parts, but there weren’t enough angles.
Was there anything that surprised you about history while making the show?
There were many things. Larry says, “We should have a popular vote with Samuel J. Tilden.” It’s like, “Samuel J., who?” Sometimes doing research could open doors for us. Everyone thinks Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, but there was actually a committee of five people: Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. In fact, they all tried it first, so that was our perspective. Larry is Robert Livingston and this is his first draft. Our main idea was that Larry’s opinion was rarely heard, but when he was heard it was with disastrous consequences, so that’s good for history.
What’s interesting about this show is the idea that people throughout history, even people who were involved in world-changing events, were probably talking about really stupid things and venting their petty grievances.
As long as there are people, petty complaints about people will exist. Shit talk didn’t start in the 20th century.
Larry David as Robert Livingston in “Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Misery”
HBO
I am interested in President Obama’s role in the production of the program. Has he ever used executive power? If the president asks for a certain guest star or a bigger budget, no one can say no.
Using the presidential veto to get more funding would have been surprising. I wish I had thought that way. “The president needs three more days of shooting. The president is calling for it.” That should have been the case.
But the president’s input, and the input of Ethan Lewis and Joe Paulsen (of Higher Ground), was invaluable. From the first time I met him, he was reading a lot of books and really liked them. He wrote some notes about something and Larry said, “Okay, okay, okay.” And the president says: “I’ve been talking for half an hour about how weird everything is. I’ll just give you one note and you’ll cringe.” The president said, “When I was in the Oval Office, I took advice, I listened to my advisers, and I was president of the United States.” And Larry just says, “Yeah, but I’m the president of this organization.”
As you said, this show is billed as a limited series. But wouldn’t you like to do more if you have the chance?
It was a lot of fun. So by Larry, I’m talking about the guy who said every season of “Curve” was the last season. Nothing makes him happier than accomplishing something, but he never stops working either. This is one of Larry’s fun paradoxes. I always start something I can’t wait to finish. I don’t know if enough time has passed for him to forget how much he hated wearing a wig, but we’ll see. I’m going to do something. There is certainly more history on the table.
Does that mean the two of you will never wear hats after this?
No, no. Like I said, people are still frustrated.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
