The ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Series Finale Gave Us a ‘Seinfeld’ Do-Over
He really did it. And then, funnier still, he corrected it too.
After 12 seasons and nearly 25 years, Larry David brought HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm to a close on Sunday night, using his beloved series’ finale as a way to both thumb his nose at critics who’ve long decried Seinfeld’s last episode, and to prove that despite his on-screen persona’s notorious intractability, he was an old dog who could learn at least one new trick.
As television fans undoubtedly remember, Seinfeld concluded with the hour-long trial of Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer, who—following a cavalcade of courtroom witnesses who slammed them for their selfish insensitivity (replete with clips!)—were sent to prison for their sins. By punishing his beloved protagonists for the very qualities that had given audiences so much amusement, David (who penned the send-off) refused to provide the happily-ever-after that so many TV icons before the quartet had received, and which viewers naturally expected. You liked them because they were creeps, he told Americans—admit and embrace it!