‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ May Not Be Ending After All

Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm might not be ending after all, despite an alarming tweet from a producer late last month. The series recently finished filming its 12th season for HBO, which producer Jon Hayman celebrated on Twitter, calling it the “last episode of the final season.” However, executive producer Jeff Schaffer had some pretty, pretty, pretty good news for fans.

“Reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated. We literally just finished shooting last week. So, yeah, we’re done,” Schaffer told Deadline on April 2. He added that David and the crew end each season understanding that the show might not come back. They even treat every season as the “last” season.

“My first season was Season 5. And you know what the final episode of that season was called? ‘The End.’ Not ironically. That was 15 years ago,” Shaffer said. “So every season is the last season. It’s been this way forever.”

Curb Your Enthusiasm runs on David’s schedule. The show debuted in October 2000 and regularly aired until 2009. David then took a year off before Season 8 aired in 2011. The Seinfeld co-creator then took a six-year hiatus before returning out of nowhere for Season 9 in 2017. Season 10 followed in 2020 and Season 11 in 2021. In August 2022, David and HBO announced there would be a 12th season.

“Larry’s put all the ideas he likes into the season. He’s the only one who thinks he’s never gonna have another good idea,” Schaffer told Deadline. “So, of course, he’s done for a while. But you know, usually, he goes out and has spirited encounters with the west side of Los Angeles, and then ideas come. So we’re in the same spot we’re always in. It’s just business as usual.” He later joked that there’s “not even a door” to close on the series.

The plot for Season 12 remains unknown. Schaffer could only promise it is a “very, very fun” batch of episodes and the editing process has only just begun. “We write it three times because we write the outline, we write it on set, and we’re writing in the edit room now,” Schaffer said. “It’s great. It’s gonna be a great season. I’m really excited about it. And I think people are really, really gonna like it.”

Curb Your Enthusiasm was created by David, who also plays a fictionalized version of himself on the show. Cheryl Hines plays his now ex-wife, Cheryl David, while Jeff Garlin plays his manager, Jeff Greene. Susie Essman plays Jeff’s wife Susie Greene, and JB Smoove stars as Leon Black. Several stars have recurring roles, including Richard Lewis and Ted Danson. The late Bob Einstein frequently stole scenes from David as Marty Funkhouser. All episodes of the series are streaming on HBO Max.