'' is an American comedy series (though not in the traditional ''''', which David and HBO had originally envisioned as a one-time project. Season 6 will debut on September 9th, 2007.
Set in Los Angeles and loosely based on David's life as a semi-retired multi-millionaire in the world after '' Seinfeld '', the series is often described as a more Subversive take on that hit program's "show about nothing" motif.
Shot on location with hand-held cameras, ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is produced unconventionally, eschewing traditional scripts in favor of detailed scene outlines from which actors improvise dialogue (a practice referred to as Retroscripting ). ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' develops ongoing story lines and in-jokes set around Larry's interaction with his patient but put-upon wife (played by Cheryl Hines ), his loyal manager Jeff Greene (played by Jeff Garlin ), and Jeff's outburst-prone wife Susie (played by Susie Essman ).
The show is punctuated between scenes with music orchestrated by Wendall J. Yuponce (first season), and from a music library company called Killer Tracks (seasons two to five). The bouncy opening and closing theme song (not mentioned in the credits) is "Frolic" by Luciano Michelini .
Although many scenarios are drawn from his own experiences, the real-life David has downplayed the notion that he is like the character portrayed onscreen. In a Bob Costas interview, he said that the Larry David of the show was the one he can't be in real life due to his sensitivity to others and to social conventions.
See Also: List of celebrities appearing on Curb Your Enthusiasm
The show's natural, fly-on-the-wall style – together with the fact that David and many other characters play "themselves" – have contributed to the show's blurring of distinctions between fiction and reality, again echoing ''Seinfeld''.
- (as "himself") – Rich, prickly, and socially obtuse, Larry has terrible luck in social situations and is often on the losing end of heated confrontations with "the help" — waiters, retail clerks, secretaries, etc. His problems are often caused by his own petty neuroses and obstinacy, which render him incapable of admitting fault, accepting blame and letting matters rest. At the same time, he is often a victim of circumstance and the over-sensitive and easily-offended natures of those he happens to encounter.
- (played by Cheryl Hines ) – Larry's wife. A foil for Larry, she is alternately patient with and exasperated by his eccentricities.
- (played by Jeff Garlin ) – Larry's friend & manager. He doggedly sticks up for his client and friend. Obsessed with sex, Jeff often involves Larry in covering up his marital infidelities and hiding his pornography.
- (played by Susie Essman ) – Jeff's wife. Her relationship with Jeff is mercurial, leading to numerous separations in the course of the show. She often reacts to Jeff and Larry's shenanigans with angry, profane tirades in which she usually refers to Jeff as a "Fat Fuck" and Larry as a "Four-Eyed Fuck." She shows more affection to her dog, Oscar, than her husband.
- (as himself) – A Neurotic , recovering Alcoholic standup comedian. He is one of Larry's oldest and closest friends, both having moved from New York to LA to pursue their comedy careers.
Guest stars frequently play key roles. Ted Danson and Wanda Sykes often appear as friends of the Davids. Shelley Berman plays Larry's father. Former ''Seinfeld'' stars Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus , along with Martin Scorsese , Alanis Morissette , Hugh Hefner , David Schwimmer , Mel Brooks , and Ben Stiller have all appeared as themselves. Jerry Seinfeld and Stephen Colbert made uncredited cameo appearances in the Season 4 finale. Dustin Hoffman , Sacha Baron Cohen and Bea Arthur appear in the Season 5 finale.
See Also: List of Curb Your Enthusiasm episodes
With the exception of Season 1 (2000), seasons of ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' are linked by a Story Arc . David took a similar approach on '' Seinfeld '' during seasons four and seven.
- In Season 1, a hobo thanks Larry for the chicken l'orange in the episode entitled "The Bracelet", but Larry is shown giving this food to the hobo three episodes later, in "AAMCO". This probably indicates that HBO aired or received these episodes out of order - as it has no over-reaching story arc, the first season was the only one in which this was possible.
- (2001) – Larry David pursues a new who starred in a famous television show (''Seinfeld'' being the obvious reference point) finds it difficult to secure Work because of the public's strong association with their famous former character. Larry pitches the idea to executives for several different networks, who are initially receptive but ultimately back away for a variety of reasons, usually involving a mishap with Larry.
- (2002) – Larry joins a Restaurant Venture with a group of Investor s that includes Ted Danson . The season ends with the restaurant's grand opening. A Sub-plot involves him being cast in a Martin Scorsese movie.
- (2004) – Larry works with Mel Brooks , Ben Stiller and David Schwimmer to star on Broadway in '' The Producers ''. He also struggles to fulfill his wife's tenth Anniversary present to him – a one-time-only extramarital Sex ual encounter. The season ends with an hour-long presentation of scenes from ''The Producers''.
- (2005) – Larry's friend, comedian Richard Lewis , is in dire need of a kidney; out of sheer feelings of paranoid guilt, Larry offers one of his own kidneys to Richard if he cannot find a suitable donor in time. Larry then makes many concerted, ridiculous efforts in finding Richard a kidney donor, including frequent visits to Richard's estranged, comatose cousin, Louis Lewis, in the hopes that he will pass away, resulting in a perfect kidney for Richard, and also befriending an Orthodox Jew who happens to be the head of the kidney donation board. Larry also feels excited that he may be adopted due to a misunderstood word his father said (and no longer remembers) while in the hospital; Larry hires a private investigator ( Mekhi Phifer ) to look into it.
- (2007) – Cheryl convinces Larry to adopt a black family named "The Blacks" to live in their house after a hurricane destroys their home. Season 6 is set to premiere on Sunday, September 9th with episode 51 - "Meet The Blacks".
- In " Making A Stand ", an episode of '' Arrested Development '', Rolando asks Michael if the improvisation will be "unscripted like ''Curb''". The same scene involves the actor Lobo Sebastian, who played Jesus in the "Christ Nail" episode of ''Curb Your Enthusiasm''. Jeff Garlin (Jeff in ''Curb Your Enthusiasm''), also appears as recurring character Mort Meyers on ''Arrested Development''. Other actors who appear in both shows include Mo Collins (Richard Lewis' Nurse in ''Curb'' and Starla in '' Arrested Development '') and Bob Einstein ("Marty Funkhouser" in ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' and Larry Middleman in the third season of ''Arrested Development'').
- In the 2005 movie '' The Upside Of Anger '', Kevin Costner's character and two girls are watching TV, and though the screen is never shown and the sound barely audible, Closed Caption ing confirms they are watching ''Curb Your Enthusiasm''. They are watching "Trick or Treat", where Larry is complaining about two girls defacing his house after he refuses to give them candy. Mike Binder , who directed "The Upside of Anger", appeared in the CYE Season 2 episode "The Massage".
- In '' The Sopranos '' episode " Where's Johnny? ", Junior Soprano is seen watching the episode "The Doll". Due to his increasing Dementia , he mistakes Larry David for himself and Jeff Garlin for Bobby Baccalieri , and is confused as to why they are on television. Perhaps in reference to this, one plot strand of the ''Curb'' episode "The End" revolves around a missing ''Sopranos'' DVD .
- In "Hamburger", an episode of '' Tim And Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! '', music commonly used in episodes of ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' plays during awkward interactions between the title duo and comedian Neil Hamburger . The "Frolic" theme song to ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' also plays over the end credits sequence.
- In the song 'The Heist' by Incredibad (the hip-hop group from The Lonely Island ):
"Yo what wacky circumstances to lead all of this to happen/yo it's just like on fuckin'
Seinfeld or Curb Enthusiasm/those were both by Larry David /no doubt Dunny, that's true..."
- Starting in 2005, German comedian Bastian Pastewka produced the comedy series '' Pastewka '', which was loosely based on CYE. Though scripted and not improvised (as CYE is), similarities extend to its title theme which closely resembles CYE's original ("Frolic" by Luciano Michelini ).
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 cut-out footage shot for the "Carpool Lane" episode of ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' showed him and his daughter attending the Dodgers vs. Atlanta Braves baseball event some 20 miles from the scene , resulting in a $320K settlement. ABC news article
A Curb Your Enthusiasm book was released October 19 , 2006, published by Gotham Books (ISBN 1-59240-230-5).
The book contains: Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Book
- stories from Larry David's past
- original interviews and commentary
- episode outlines
- episode guide
- over 100 full-color photographs
The show's theme music was discovered by Larry David while watching a bank advertisement years before the show was created. The piece is called "Frolic" and was written by Italian Composer Luciano Michelini Michelini's official site (in Italian) ).
In May 2006, Mellowdrama Records released an unofficial Curb Your Enthusiasm soundtrack, which contained much of the music used in the show. It featured the following tracklisting:
#"Frolic" - Luciano Michelini
#"Bubba Dub Bossa" - Robby Poitevin
#"Beach Parade" - Armando Trovaioli
#"For Whom The Bell Tolls" - Gianni Ferrio
#"The Stranger" - Alessandro Alessandroni
#"Tango Passionate" - Piero Umiliani
#"Ein Swei March" - Renato Rascel
#"Suspicion" - Ennio Morricone
#"Solo Dance" - Italo Greco
#"Moulin Rouge Waltz" - Teddy Lasry
#"Walk Cool" - Nino Oliviero
#"Slow On The Uptake" - Luis Bacalov
#"Corfu" - Eric Gemsa
#"Thrills And Spills" - Stefano Torossi
#"The Puzzle" - Franco Micalizzi
#"Au Vieux" - Christian Sebasto Toucas
#"Merry Go Round" - Armando Trovaioli
#"Riviera Nostalgia" - Jacques Mercier
#"La Ballada Di Periferia" - Jacques Mercier
#"The Little People" - Carlo Rustichelli
#"Mazurka Bastiaise" - Jean Michel Panunzio
#"Spinning Waltz" - Piero Umiliani
#"Amusement" - Franco Micalizzi
#"Frolic (30 Second Edit)" - Luciano Michelini
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