Two years after “Curb Your Enthusiasm” ended, Larry David is heading back to HBO with something that sounds perfectly calibrated to make a national milestone feel petty, uncomfortable, and faintly ridiculous. “Life, Larry, And The Pursuit Of Unhappiness,” a seven-episode sketch comedy limited series from David and Jeff Schaffer, will premiere Friday, June 26 at 9:00 pm ET/PT on HBO and stream on HBO Max, with weekly episodes running through August 7. The project was announced on Friday at SXSW during a panel with David and Schaffer, where new footage from the series was shown.
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The setup is exactly the kind of deadpan high-concept gag David has built a career out of. Per the official logline, “President and Mrs. Obama wanted to honor America’s 250th anniversary and celebrate the unique history of our nation on this special occasion. …But then Larry David called.” That is the whole joke and, probably, the whole engine: civic uplift meeting one of comedy’s great professional irritants.
Schaffer wrote and executive-produced the series with David, and he also directs. Barack Obama and Michelle Obama executive produce alongside Ethan Lewis and Vinnie Malhotra for Higher Ground, the company behind projects including “American Factory,” “Crip Camp,” “Rustin,” and “Leave the World Behind.” It is an unusual pairing on paper—presidential legacy branding colliding with David’s allergy to decorum—but that friction is plainly part of the appeal.
The supporting lineup is also starting to come into focus, and HBO is clearly treating the series like a showcase for both Larry David’s old orbit and some sharply chosen historical stunt casting. Alongside David, the show will feature “Curb Your Enthusiasm” veterans Jeff Garlin, J.B. Smoove, and Susie Essman, with Essman set to play Susan B. Anthony. Bill Hader and Kathryn Hahn will play Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, while Jon Hamm and Sean Hayes will appear as the Wright brothers.
The timing is also sharp. The United States will mark its 250th anniversary in 2026, and David’s series will arrive just as the country starts wrapping itself in the usual pageantry. If the premise holds, “Life, Larry, And The Pursuit Of Unhappiness” will not be treating that celebration like sacred civic theater. It will more likely treat it the way David treats most organized public behavior—as a setup for annoyance, vanity, and some very American form of humiliation.
Rodrigo Perez is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Playlist, which he launched in 2008. He has worked in entertainment journalism since 2000, including at MTV, and has written for SPIN, IndieWire, Pitchfork, Complex, Magnet, and various music, film, and entertainment publications over the past two decades.
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