Curb Your Enthusiasm ended with a trial and a kicker that put what its creative team called a “stubborn exclamation point” on the Larry David-created and -starring series by revisiting and flipping the ending of Seinfeld for Curb’s final episode. The April 7 series-ender for the long-running HBO comedy closed with a classic callback to the Jerry Seinfeld-starring series that David co-created and ran years earlier. His Curb partner, showrunner Jeff Schaffer, points out that the plot was more than two decades in the making. “It’s just cool that you can hang around long enough to be able to do a 26-year-old joke,” Schaffer tells The Hollywood Reporter in the below conversation. While Curb, which has received four Emmy nominations for its final season, is over as a series, Schaffer says David hasn’t stopped being perturbed by the human race — which should give fans of the improvisational comedy hope. “The show is done in its current form, but Larry’s not done,” he says of possibilities to come. “We’re talking about talking about stuff.”
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How did you keep the series finale a secret?
I am so happy nothing leaked. We had these big court room scenes for four days, and the jury was a bunch of extras. Props to them for actually doing what they said they would do — legally, what their NDA said! They didn’t spill the beans. Larry was worried. I said, “Well, why don’t you talk to them?” At the beginning, he got up and said, “Hey everybody. You’re going to see a lot of stuff here. Don’t tell anybody. We hate spoilers. Don’t ruin it for everyone else. Don’t be a spoiler.” And none of them were, to their credit. We also shot scenes with Jerry [Seinfeld] and Larry in the middle of a working hotels in downtown Los Angeles. I never saw any photos of that come out, which was incredible.
How bummed would you have been if the ending had been spoiled?
What we didn’t think about during the course of the season was as soon as we mentioned “trial,” everyone jumped on. That’s when we actually got worried, like we didn’t hide the ball well enough. By episode five, when Larry was going to the lawyer’s office talking about a trial, everyone was like, “Oh my gosh, they’re going to do the Seinfeld finale again. They’re gonna go to trial!” At first, that did bum me out a little bit. But then I realized, “No, this is great. Let it slowly dawn on them that this is inexorable. That we are slowly moving towards the thing they can’t believe we’re gonna do, and then we’ll get there. We’ll get all the way up until that final moment, and then we’ll flip it.”
Do you think you underestimated your audience?
We underestimated the word “trial.” But in the end, the season played out like the show plays out in every scene, where you can’t believe Larry is going to do what he’s going to do. The season played out like that over 10 episodes: “I can’t believe they re doing it.”
How much have you guys talked about the response to the Seinfeld ending over the years?
Only when it was necessary, like in season seven when we were doing the Seinfeld reunion on Curb. “We can’t ruin this reunion, we already ruined a finale,” was an easy joke. But other than that, I honestly don’t think Larry ever thought about it.
How is Larry feeling about the ending now?
Larry was honestly totally surprised by the positive force of the response. He was blown away by how much people got it and enjoyed it. He’s really, really happy that we pulled it off. And Jerry is really happy that we pulled it off. And that makes me happy. I’ve been working with them since 1994. So to bring it all full circle with those two people who taught me everything about how to write comedy was really special.
You and Larry came up with the meta ending and then peppered things into the season so it would all come together in the end. What had to work, otherwise the whole thing would fall apart?
The finale had to be a funny Curb episode. Once we knew we were going to recapitulate the Seinfeld finale, once we knew we were going to flip it, we knew that would work. But we were really focused on making sure that there were really funny Curb stories within this episode. That’s sort of what happened in the Seinfeld finale — these four people who you enjoyed so much when they were active in their own demise were very passive sitting at a table. So we made sure there were very funny Curb stories. It couldn’t be a clip show.
Have you heard from the other Seinfeld stars?
Julia [Louis-Dreyfus] sent me a really nice email right after the finale, saying how much she loved it and how great it was, which was super gratifying. It’s just cool that you can hang around long enough to be able to do a 26-year-old joke!
Now you’ve created the Seinfeld–Curb multiverse. There are so many possibilities.
I know what you want. You want Leon [J.B. Smoove] in a Doctor Who movie. We’ll see.
When you look back at the final season, what tickles you the most?
Larry’s performance this season was so good. His face was so expressive. He told you exactly why it was funny every time, his face executing the full color wheel of lies. He would be mortified that I’m saying this but, it’s a no-brainer him winning for best actor in a comedy. Because he’s doing what no one else is doing. He’s acting and writing at the same time.
What would Emmy recognition mean to you for this final season?
A nomination is a real compliment. But I think I speak for both of us when I say that Larry and I haven’t learned how to take compliments. We haven’t really parsed our odds. We just figure it’s cool we got nominated again, whatever happens, happens. As for what the Best Comedy category looks like, I hope whoever wins is the funniest show. I was on Seinfeld for four years and we lost to Frasier all four seasons, and I have never heard anybody say, “I just had the craziest Frasier moment!” Really funny things are like plutonium, they have a long half-life. And I think Curb stories are going to be radioactive for a long time.
How do you feel about Curb’s legacy?
I really feel like we stuck the landing. It makes me very happy that everyone seems to have really liked it, because we sort of went out on a limb and it worked. And it’s something no other show could have done, because no other show has the tie-in. It was a unique and lazy thing to try. (Laughs.) Everybody really liked it, and Larry never thought that was going to happen. He was getting ready, in typical Larry form, to go, “Well, if they like it I’ll take credit, if they don’t like it, I’ll just blame you.” (Laughs.) To me, the legacy is the amount of people who say, “I just had a Curb moment.” Or, “My cousin is Larry.” People who now have the courage to say they’re too good for a text chain, or the fact that at every Bruce Springsteen concert now, he has to deal with someone holding a sign saying, “I’m a floor fucker, too.” That’s worth an Emmy right there. Or at least a Critic’s Choice award.
Larry always ends up missing the show after you are done. Is he still writing in his notepad?
We’re still in an office together, next to each other. Things are still happening. It’s really a testament to all the people on the west side of Los Angeles. We’re not running out of ideas, because people are still terrible. And you’re confronted with that every day you walk out of your house. In fact, Larry said to me the other day, “What are we going to do with all these ideas?” I said, “Let’s figure it out.” So, we’re going to figure it out.
What does that mean?
I don’t know! It means we’re talking about talking about stuff.
When would that be… in months, years… weeks?
Not weeks. Maybe months. Definitely years.
Do you consider the show as done?
I would say the show is done in its current form, but Larry’s not done. If comedy were beer, he’s a master brewer. I think he’s going to still make beer, but what are we going to pour it into? I don’t know yet.
What about any character spinoffs?
I’ve definitely been chatting with J.B., who has a million ideas. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Leon. I don’t know how or when, but Leon is going to get his.
One way you could come back is with a reunion fundraiser. Those were big the last election cycle and now Kamala Harris has people in Hollywood fired up. Have you and Larry talked about getting involved or getting the Curb crew involved for 2024?
We’ve definitely talked about being involved on a political level, we’ve not talked about doing it through Curb. My guess is that’s something a lot of shows are going to do, and I very much doubt Larry wants to be the ninth show to do that. But I’m quite sure he’s going to be active in raising money and helping with the campaign. I haven’t been back [in Hollywood] since the announcement, but just from my group of people, it’s a new world. It’s great. It’s a crazy story, and I really hope it has a happy ending.
It was important to you that the final shot of the season was with the entire cast. You called “wrap,’ and Jeff Garlin cried. The late Richard Lewis was there. How do you look back on that moment now?
I wish I had prepared something to say. (Laughs.) I was so focused on the shoot that when we were done, I realized, “Someone is going to have to say something.” I went up to Larry and said, “Are you good?” He said, “Yeah, we’re good.” So, we’re done. And I realized I didn’t prepare for this moment. I prepared for every moment of this entire season except for this one. And, this one seems important! But I didn’t really think about what I was going to do. So I just stood there and said, “That’s the end of the funniest show on television.” Looking back, I’m thinking, “Oh, you’re so lame.” That, I should have prepped for.
Are you all still in touch… is there actually a group chat?
There was a text chain for a little, and then we all realized we’re too good for it. But we have talked and seen each other. We’ve had dinner and gotten together. Everyone feels really satisfied with how we ended. It’s hard to end a show and have everyone leave happy, and we did.
What’s your rewatch recommendation for Curb now — watch all of Seinfeld and then all of Curb?
Who has that much time? That’s like 300 episodes of television. Because the Seinfeld stuff was so in the air, you don’t have to have seen it to enjoy the Curb [ending]. But if I was going to rewatch Curb, you can start anywhere and at any season, it will make sense.
When you think about or miss Curb now, what comes to mind?
The thing I miss the most is being on set with the actors making something out of nothing. And laughing a lot every day, and laughing at something that you didn’t have any idea existed three hours ago, and now it’s this great thing we all made together. That’s what I miss.
Can you recreate that lightning in a bottle?
As long as Larry is still being perturbed by his fellow man, there’s still a shot.
A version of this story first appeared in the Aug. 7 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
