That's pretty, pretty, pretty sad news.
Curb Your Enthusiasm officially comes to an end with Season 12 on HBO.
The creator and star of each season, Larry David, says he is quitting the show, but this time it seems to be true.
“As Curb comes to an end, I now have the opportunity to finally shed this 'Larry David' persona and become the person God intended me to be – the thoughtful, kind, caring, considerate person that I was until I was derailed “representation of this villainous character,” said David. “And so 'Larry David', I say goodbye to you. Your misanthropy will not be lost on us. And if you want to get in touch with me, you can reach me at Doctors Without Borders.”
The Season 12 premiere will take place on February 4th and the finale of the 10-episode series will air on April 7th.
It's been a fantastic run for the show, which began in 1999 as a one-hour special “Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm” (where David and his then-wife Cheryl had children, by the way).
The actual first season premiered in October 2000. The first eight seasons were fairly regular, appearing every year or two. But there was a big gap of over six years between seasons eight and nine and three years between seasons nine and ten, so it's not out of the question that David will change his mind at some point and return to unscripted comedy.
In March, producer Jon Hayman caused a stir on social media when he said that season 12 would be its last.
Executive producer Jeff Schaffer, David's longtime partner on the show, subsequently toned down that story, saying that “reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated.”
“We literally just finished filming last week. So, yeah, we're done,” he said, adding that the crew, including David himself, ends each season with the expectation that the series will continue or not.
Unfortunately, it seems that this time Hayman was right.
Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO & Max Content, previously said that the network was leaving that decision up to David and that additional seasons were an “open invitation.”
Curb stars David as an exaggerated version of himself living in LA (and, for a fantastic season, New York). It stars Jeff Garlin as his manager and best friend; Susie Essman as Jeff's swear-word-laden wife (who can forget about the car wash in Season 3); Cheryl Hines as his ex-wife; JB Smoove as his roommate who never left after his black family (also starring Vivica A. Fox) appeared in Season 6 after Hurricane Katrina; Richard Lewis as his oldest pal; Ted Danson as himself, who once dates David's ex-wife Cheryl; Vince Vaughn, who plays Freddy Funkhouser, the half-brother of Marty Funkhouser, played by the late, great Bob Einstein; and Tracey Ullman, who played councilwoman Irma Kostroski (and, for a moment, his beautiful, obnoxious girlfriend) in season 11.
The show also received critical acclaim, earning 51 Emmy nominations and two awards for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series for Robert B. Weide and Outstanding Single Camera Editing for a Comedy Series for Steven Rasch. It received 10 nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series but never won (come on, Academy). Additionally, there were five Golden Globe nominations and one win, as well as multiple nominations and wins at other awards including SAG, DGA and WGA.
Then there are the guest stars. It featured unforgettable turns from Mel Brooks, Martin Scorsese, Ben Stiller, Christian Slater, Rosie O'Donnell (remember the fight scene?), Michael J. Fox, Ricky Gervais, Lin-Manuel Miranda, F. Murray Abraham and David Swimmer.
There was also a Seinfeld reunion season, with Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander and Michael Richards working on a reboot of the classic NBC comedy that David co-created so Larry could win back his ex-wife.
David executive produces alongside Garlin and Schaffer, with Laura Streicher and Jennifer Corey as co-executive producers.
Bloys added: “It's hard to say goodbye to a series as groundbreaking, brilliantly funny and iconic as Curb Your Enthusiasm, which has left its mark on television and the comedy genre.” Working with Larry David and Jeff Schaffer as well “To all the comedic masterminds of our producers, cast and crew was a joy that I will always cherish.”