Larry David doesn’t grasp why viewers label “Curb Your Enthusiasm” as cringe comedy. The creator and star of the HBO series, which just completed an impressive 12-season, 24-year run, reflected on the show’s legacy during a panel celebrating the show at PaleyFest LA 2024 Thursday — and had reservations when his costars brought up its signature awkwardness.
“I never imagined in a million years that [the show] would have that kind of impact on people,” David said. “When people call it a cringe comedy, I want to confront them strongly.”
The topic arose as David discussed the show’s distinctive style of comedy alongside executive producer Jeff Schaffer and cast members Susie Essman, Jeff Garlin (also an EP), Cheryl Hines and J.B. Smoove in a conversation moderated by Judd Apatow.
After the cast jokingly berated Larry for saying only Smoove played a fictional character — while the rest just played heightened versions of themselves — Apatow brought up how David always said the show allowed him to act out in ways he couldn’t in real life. Though that hadn’t stopped Larry from yelling at one of Apatow’s friends in a parking lot while fighting for a spot recently.
Smoove added the show has gotten into the same place in the zeitgeist as “The Twilight Zone,” in that people equate moments from their lives to the show, calling difficult interactions or situations as “ ‘Curb’ moments.”
“There are moments [in life] where you are f-ing cringey and you want to punch somebody in the f-ing face… but Larry has those moments, remembers them and writes them down, and then they become amazing moments on the show,” Smoove said.
After David insisted he never intended for the show’s jokes to read as cringey, Apatow reminded him about the early scene where Larry hugs a little girl while hiding a water bottle in his crotch, asking if audiences shouldn’t find that cringey. David simply shrugged and said he didn’t “understand how that’s cringeworthy.”
“[Curb] is a comedy horror movie sometimes,” Schaffer added, bringing up the moment where an interaction with Larry happens and viewers think he’ll walk away, but he scratches his head and doubles down leading to confrontation, while the audience thinks in their mind “don’t go back, don’t go back!”
The panel discussion also touched the cast’s favorite moments from the show’s past as well as guest stars — including lots of shoutouts to Mel Brooks, the cast of “Seinfeld” and Michael J. Fox — and a round robin of complements to David that left the comedy icon cringing himself.
“[‘Curb’] was the most fun I could ever have possibly had doing anything,” David said. “To write it then filming, tI can’t imagine how I could ever have more fun in my life.”
All episodes of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” are available to stream on Max.
