Key takeaways:
– HBO’s Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm has ended its twelve-season run with a series finale that pleased many fans.
– Show director, Jeff Schaffer, revealed that the finale was a direct response to Seinfeld critics.
– Despite its controversy, Schaffer claims to never have had a problem with the Seinfeld finale, finding it amusing.
– The Seinfeld series finale, aired in 1998, left several viewers aggravated as it was rated as a C by Entertainment Weekly.
Curb Your Enthusiasm Draws Curtain with a Bang
After a successful 120-episode run spanning twelve seasons, HBO’s brainchild Curb Your Enthusiasm starring Larry David has officially come to a close. The series finale managed to mix humor with some well-placed cameos, dropping hints about another possibly anticipated conclusion.
The Wisecrack to Seinfeld Haters
Unsurprisingly, Jeff Schaffer, the show director, revealed that the conclusive episode was a deliberate retort to the critics of Seinfeld. In some ways, this reflected the more intense, unforgiving version of Larry David portrayed in Curb Your Enthusiasm’s season finale.
Undeterred by the controversy surrounding the Seinfeld finale, Larry David retorted in his typical sardonic style, saying, “I’m 76 years old, and I have never learned a lesson in my entire life!” This sentiment echoes another infamous line in the Seinfeld finale: “no hugging, no learning.”
Seinfeld’s Embattled Ending
Drawing parallels between the two shows, the Seinfeld finale had the main characters — Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), George (Jason Alexander), and Kramer (Michael Richards) — sentenced to a year in prison for standing by during a carjacking. Similarly, David’s character in Curb Your Enthusiasm was put on trial for allegedly violating Georgia’s ‘Election Integrity Act’. Both finales have faced their fair share of backlash and criticism.
In an explicit show of defiance, Schaffer described the series ending as a firm objection to hating the Seinfeld finale. He shared, “On Larry sticking a big middle finger at everyone who didn’t like the ‘Seinfeld’ finale going, ‘Hey, you know what? I’ve never learned a lesson in my life. I don’t care what you thought. I’m doing it again.’”
Decoding the Reviled Seinfeld Finale
The Seinfeld finale first aired on May 14, 1998, drawing the ire of many among its 76.3 million viewers, as per a report by Variety. Entertainment Weekly rated the series ending a C, labelling Larry David a “spiteful, unforgiving moralist.”
Even Jerry Seinfeld, the leading man himself, conveyed some regret about the contentious ending. “I sometimes think we really shouldn’t have even done it. Big is always bad in comedy,” he shared, hinting at the enormous pressure they faced at the time to wrap up the show.
A Successful Encore
The brilliance of Larry David lies in his willingness to rekindle the Seinfeld finale despite its backlash, hinting that the criticism relieved him of the pressure to end Curb Your Enthusiasm. “I got so much grief from the ‘Seinfeld’ finale, that I no longer feel a need to wrap things up,” he confided back in 2014.
With the finale episode ‘No Lessons Learned’ currently holding the highest rating of any Curb Your Enthusiasm episode on IMDb, it seems that David’s bold move paid off.
The entirety of Curb Your Enthusiasm can now be streamed on Max, with Seinfeld available on Netflix for fans old and new to revisit their favourite moments.
