Curb Your Enthusiasm

Curb Your Enthusiasm is a sitcom based on the one-hour special of the same name which aired on HBO in 1999 (see 1999 in TV).

The series stars Larry David playing himself with Cheryl Hines as his wife and Jeff Garlin, Richard Lewis and Ted Danson as his friends. The series creates clever, ironic stories around the minutiae of David's sensitivities, propensities to outrage, joy in minor, slightly misanthropic flouting of life's daily conventions, and unintended self-destructive behavior. Because of this, it is often referred to as an extension of the Seinfeld series, exploring more of the themes raised there, but in with greater latitude afforded by cable television.

Hines is an utterly believeable straight woman/foil for David; Garlin is an understated comic sidekick in his role as David's manager, who, like Hines, has an exasperated fondness for David's eccentricities. Susie Essman has created a truly classic role in her portrayal of Garlin's wife, a foul-mouthed raging harridan before whom David and Garlin regularly tremble.

Curb Your Enthusiasm has a unique style where actors are given basic direction with the main story line and act in-character, but without a strict script.