Yahoo Finance “Curb Your Enthusiasm ”Series Finale: How Larry David's Hit Show Ended After 24 Years and 12 Seasons
The HBO comedy wrapped on April 7 with a star-studded finale that saw Larry David standing trial in Georgia and plenty of visitors from seasons past returning for one final farewell
HBO
Larry David and Cheryl Hines on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'Warning: this story contains spoilers from the season finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Consider your enthusiasm curbed.
Curb Your Enthusiasm came to an end on Sunday, April 7, following 12 seasons spanning 24 years. The series finale picked up after Larry David fell from grace as a liberal hero because he gave Bruce Springsteen COVID.
In the final episode, titled “No Lessons Learned,” Larry stood trial for giving a bottle of water to Auntie Rae (Ellia English) while in line at a polling station, which violated a controversial new Georgia state law.
Of course, the flight to Atlanta to attend the trial wasn't without incident — Larry got into trouble with the flight attendant for not putting his phone into airplane mode, and so he snitched on Leon (JB Smoove) and Jeff (Jeff Garlin) whose phones were also on. (During the flight, Leon watched Seinfeld for the first time, and told Larry he didn't realize it was a show about "a--," marveling about how many women Jerry dated.)
Once in Atlanta, there's was a surprise appearance by Allison Janney as a freeway driver who didn't let Jerry and Leon in to the turning lane. Middle fingers were flashed — which meant fans would likely be seeing more from Janney.
Back at the hotel, Larry, Jeff and Susie (Susie Essman) got grossed out by the late Richard Lewis talking about his sex life with a rekindled flame. "Don't say intercourse!" said Larry, adding that he'd rather picture his parents naked than Richard. Jeff and Susie agreed.
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Larry David on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'Related: Comedian and Curb Your Enthusiasm Star Richard Lewis Dead at 76
Then comes the surprise! When viewers met Richard's flame, it was indeed Janney, the woman who wouldn't let Larry and Leon in the turning lane, although she denied that was her.
Upon entering the courtroom, viewers got another surprise guest appearance from Greg Kinnear, who played the district attorney. The judge was played by Dean Norris, who played Breaking Bad's Hank Schrader. Larry and his lawyer started profiling jurors that they'd like to dismiss: a man in a bolo tie ("no liberal would be caught dead in a bolo tie,") a self-loathing bald man with a combover, a woman with large hair that he said has "shades of Kelly Conway."
After the trial began, the DA brought in witness Mocha Joe, Larry's longtime nemesis. Joe told the jurors about their longstanding rivalry. The next witness was Larry's Country Club owner Mr. Takahashi, who told the jurors how Larry killed the club's black swan with his golf club. It wasn't looking great for Larry, so Leon told him that he needs to appear more sympathetic to the jurors, and that he should be seen dating a woman in a wheelchair or something similar.
The next day, Susie rolled into the courtroom in a wig and wheelchair, pretending to be Larry's girlfriend — a move that ended up being a fail after she stood up out of the chair to shout at her husband Jeff.
The DA continued to call more and more people from Larry's past whom he's had run-ins with, including Bruce Springsteen. Later in the evening, Larry sat with old pal Jerry Seinfeld, who had come to town to support Larry. They had the kind of conversation that felt right out of Seinfeld episode.
As the trial continued, there were more flashbacks from seasons past, highlighting things Larry has (hilariously) done wrong over the years. The next day the verdict was read, and — spoiler alert! — the jurors found him guilty. He was sentenced to one year in prison.
As Larry sat in a jail cell, Jerry Seinfeld appeared again. It turned out he'd realized that a man he'd had an awkward run-in with the night before was one of the jurors, who was supposed to be sequestered. The entire event was declared a mistrial, and the sentencing was dismissed.
The episode ended with the whole gang on a flight back to L.A., featuring Susie opening her window shade on the plane and getting in a fight with the regular cast and crew about the awful glare. "Oh go back to jail, Larry!" she shouted.
HBO
Larry David (left) and J.B. Smoove on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'Along with Springsteen, Curb Your Enthusiasm season 12 featured guest appearances from Steve Buscemi, Savannah Guthrie, Sean Hayes, Hoda Kotb, Dan Levy, Lori Loughlin, Sienna Miller, Conan O’Brien and Rob Riggle.
Loughlin, 59, notably parodied her involvement in the 2019 college admissions scandal by playing a heightened version of herself who got rejected from country clubs around Los Angeles because of her involvement in the controversy. David ended up sponsoring Loughlin for membership thanks to a motivating speech.
Curb Your Enthusiasm premiered on HBO in 2000, inspired by an hourlong mockumentary initially intended as a one-off in which David, 76, portrays an exaggerated version of himself. The show took a pause in 2011 following season 8 and resumed in 2017. The series earned a total of 51 Emmy nominations and six Golden Globe nominations over the span of 24 years.
HBO
Susie Essman on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'“As Curb comes to an end, I will 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 human being I was until I got derailed by portraying this malignant character,” David joked in December when Curb announced its final season. “And so 'Larry David,' I bid you farewell. Your misanthropy will not be missed. And for those of you who would like to get in touch with me, you can reach me at Doctors Without Borders."
Garlin admitted on The Rich Eisen Show last month that he “began bawling” when the show’s final scene wrapped.
"I'm all a mess and I'm walking back to my trailer and I see [Larry] coming back to just pat me on the back, saying, you know, 'I know, pal' ... now I'm getting sentimental on here!" Garlin, 61, said.
Tracey Ullman, the actress behind politician Irma Kostroski on Curb, credited David with the comedy's longevity. “Larry’s secretly a lovely man,” Ullman, 64, told The Guardian. “A show can’t go on this long without someone great at the top.”
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