When “Curb Your Enthusiasm” began its run on HBO all the way back in 2000, creator/star Larry David had a very specific rule: He wouldn’t let the show’s cast read the episodic outlines.
“The first three seasons I did not even see an outline,” “Curb” star Cheryl Hines tells Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast. “I wasn’t allowed. And then yeah, and so that was the joke is when I got to hair and makeup. I’d say, ‘can anybody tell me what this show is about?’ And they’d say no. And then I finally talked Larry into letting me read an outline. I did promise Larry that I will never think ahead about what I’m going to say.”
David wanted them to think on their toes as they improvised the dialogue in scenes — and that became an early hallmark of why the show felt so unique.
And stars like Hines, Susie Essman and Jeff Garlin went with it. But eventually, they wanted more prep time — and they finally convinced David to let them have a peek. Well, not all of them.
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“I literally, no exaggeration, go to set, put on whatever my wardrobe is, walk to set and I walk up to [executive producer] Jeff Schaffer. And I go, ‘What do I do?'” Garlin says. “And he will tell me what the scene is about and what my responsibilities are in the scene. And that’s what keeps it fresh for me. I don’t know until the moment I step on the set what I’m going to do.”
Essman, on the other hand, is the exact opposite: “I want to know exactly what we’re doing the next day,” she says. “So I can have it in my head. And know what the scene needs… it’s always when you read the outlines, you’re always shocked. ‘Oh, I guess this season I’m having vaginal rejuvenation surgery.’ We get them and it’s just like, ‘OK, I guess that’s what I’m doing this season!'”
On this episode of the award-winning Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, we talk to “Curb Your Enthusiasm” stars Jeff Garlin, Susie Essman, JB Smoove and Cheryl Hines about the end of the landmark HBO series and their lasting memories from their time with Larry David.
Also on this episode, the Roundtable is back and ready to set the stage for Emmy season. Listen below!
The foursome will probably be asked until the end of time whether there might ever be a “Curb” reunion. On the episode, we point out that “Seinfeld” had a reunion on “Curb,” so maybe on a future show by David or Schaffer they might do a show-within-a-show “Curb” revisit.
But, they all agree, at least for now, this is truly the end. “There’s no doubt in my mind this is the end,” Garlin says. “If we did more episodes, I would be thrilled to do it. If we do a movie, I have no desire. This is perfect for short form. And Larry David is a genius with whatever he wants to do.
The group noted that “Curb” was hit hard by the loss of Bob Einstein, who had played Marty Funkhouser, and more recently with the death of Richard Lewis — who is seen throughout the final season.
“Luckily, Richard was able to do this season, which was iffy,” Essman said. “The work he did incredible. And what was so poignant about his work this season, as you could see the comedic brain was working beautifully. But his body betrayed him. He couldn’t get it out, in the same way and in the same rhythm that he used to be able to get it out. It was it was hard to watch and beautiful to watch. I mean, he was not well, clearly you could see he was not well. But he wasn’t dying. So his death was a shock to all of us.”
Hines noted that it was important to David that Lewis was on this season. “They he worked really hard to to make sure that Richard was accommodated,” she says.
As for Einstein’s passing in 2019, Garlin said it took a toll on David. “When Bob died and didn’t come back, it affected everything,” he said. “Think of our lunches where Larry just would leave the table. And you knew why. We were talking about Bob when he would just leave the table. He was so upset and angry. He actually was angry. Same with Richard, he had a quote about Richard, about him being so angry at him.”
Among other highlights:
• Essman laughs at how this season of “Curb” upended Bruce Springsteen’s legacy. “The poor man has a brilliant career for 50 something years, whatever it is. And he was at the Forum a couple of weeks ago, and people are holding up posters that say ‘floor fucker.’ He’s one day with us, and he’s haunted.”
• Garlin’s favorite idea on “Curb” may be Larry’s “Latte Larry” spite store. “It’s the greatest fantasy premise that I’ve ever seen in my life, because there’s not one person who wishes they could do it. And that’s the spite store. You’re treated like crap. And you decide to move in next door with the same exact stuff every week, because when you go into a store and you’re treated poorly, quite often, you get no one cares, or they treat you poorly. You think, ‘I wish I could fucking get you or get this!'”
• Essman says audiences don’t realize what a great guy David really is. “He generally is not that to be that character in the way he treats people because he’s way more sensitive,” she says. “He couldn’t be the leader of this group if he treated people the way that he his character treats them.”
• As Susie Greene, Essman refused to call Garlin’s character a “fat fuck” in the season finale, although that’s what the character called her husband for years. “Larry was like, ‘just for old times sake, call him a fat fuck.’ And instead I just said, ‘shut up you fat fucking ass!’ Because I didn’t want to do fat fuck again. It was played out. So I found another way to say it.”
• David recently told a PaleyFest audience that he hates the term “cringe comedy.” Essman agrees. “I don’t find it cringeworthy. Cringe is not funny.”
• Smoove has a wall full of hats — and they all have different personalities. “Some are like arrogant, some are conceited. Some are overbearing, they all have something. Some are needy,” he says. “The needy hat knows he’s my favorite hat. What’s a conceited man? Is the hat that fits perfectly in the wind. It just stays there, because if fits too good.”
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, produced by Michael Schneider, is your one-stop listen for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each week “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives; discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines; and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts. New episodes post weekly.
