{"id":766453,"date":"2026-06-28T09:07:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T09:07:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/766453\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T09:07:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T09:07:26","slug":"how-larry-david-returned-to-hbo-in-life-larry-and-the-pursuit-of-unhappiness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/766453\/","title":{"rendered":"How Larry David Returned to HBO in Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Larry David is pitched an idea, his immediate inclination is to reject it. So much so, that his longtime writing and producing partner Jeff Schaffer referred to him as \u201cthe fastest no in show business.\u201d <\/p>\n

But when former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama\u2019s Higher Ground asked if he\u2019d do a project for America\u2019s 250th anniversary, the fastest no in show business held his trigger finger. That initial ask would turn into the comedy sketch show \u201cLife, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness,\u201d which drops TV\u2019s favorite curmudgeon into history\u2019s biggest moments.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was like, \u2018Huh, that\u2019s really interesting.\u2019 And Larry is a history buff. He studied American history. He loves American history,\u201d Schaffer recalled in an interview with TheWrap. \u201cIt seems so weird to combine President Obama and Larry David, but he\u2019s actually the perfect person. I mean, if Woody Allen and Doris Kearns Goodwin had a baby, it would be Larry David. So we just started talking about ideas and what to do, and as we started talking about it, \u2018He\u2019s like, yeah, I really want to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The opportunity had presented itself after David wrapped up \u201cCurb Your Enthusiasm\u201d after 12 seasons and 24 years on HBO. Schaffer revealed that he and David were already considering new TV ideas as well as a movie before Higher Ground came knocking. <\/p>\n

\u201cI remember calling Amy Gravitt at HBO, and I just said, \u2018Hey, we have something for you. What if I could deliver you a show starring two people that half of America love?\u2019 And she\u2019s like, \u2018What are you talking about?\u2019\u201d Schaffer continued. \u201cSo Larry and I went in and pitched this thing, and she\u2019s like, \u2018Great, let\u2019s do it,\u2019 but I\u2019m not sure everybody knew what we were going to do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schaffer believes David\u2019s willingness to return to TV in \u201cLife, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness\u201d actually stemmed from an FTX commercial<\/a> David did four years ago, where he played himself all throughout time pooh-poohing every good invention that humanity\u2019s ever created.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he remembered how much fun it was being in costume and he forgot how much he hated being in wigs and hair and makeup. He was like, \u2018This will be really fun. We\u2019ll do this, we\u2019ll go all the way through history,\u2019\u201d Schaffer said. \u201cSo we just started writing out stuff we thought we might want to do, and then we brought it to HBO, and they were like, \u2018Great, go for it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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While \u201cLife, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness\u201d continues to take advantage of the improv-style format of \u201cCurb,\u201d Schaffer emphasized its meant to look more cinematic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe built the Wright flyer. We were in a World War I trench. They\u2019re not shot like \u2018Curb,\u2019 they\u2019re little movies,\u201d he said. \u201cI think everyone\u2019s been excited about how elevated the whole thing is, but it\u2019s still very funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it still relies on a lineup of flashy guest stars, from familiar faces from David\u2019s body of work, including Jerry Seinfeld, Susie Essman, J.B. Smoove and Vince Vaughn, to new collaborators such as Kathryn Hahn, Bill Hader and, yes, even President Obama.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe killed,\u201d Schaffer said of Obama\u2019s sketch comedy debut. \u201cWe got to spend a decent amount of time filming with him and aside from being one of the coolest individuals on the planet, brilliant and an amazing patriot, he\u2019s also a really funny guy. He\u2019s got great timing and he really enjoys annoying Larry and being annoyed by Larry. He was like, \u2018When I\u2019m around him, I just start talking like him, he just sucks me into this. I\u2019m not like this with other people, but with him, this is what I\u2019m like.\u2019 From the first meeting we had, they were so fun together. And there\u2019s lines that Larry and I can take no credit for \u2014 it\u2019s 100% Barack.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"life-larry-and-the-pursuit-of-unhappiness-larry-david-barack-obama-hbo\"Larry David and President Barack Obama in \u201cLife, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness.\u201d (HBO)<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not a Larry David production without airing some grievances, which becomes the central focus in a sketch spoofing the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Friday\u2019s premiere.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had such a long list of grievances. They were all written down in the handwritten font, there\u2019s a long list of them. I actually have a giant poster signed by President Obama, which is one of my favorite things that I possess,\u201d Schaffer said when asked if any grievances didn\u2019t make it into the final cut of the premiere. \u201cLet\u2019s put it this way, Larry has more complaints than we could fit into a sketch.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Still, there\u2019s a number of surprises throughout the series that the show has kept close to the vest. Among them is Samuel L. Jackson, who lends his voice as the show\u2019s narrator. <\/p>\n

Jackson\u2019s involvement came about after David and Schaffer had already finished shooting and were contemplating how to organize everything. They would end up coming up with what Schaffer described as \u201chistorical Russian roulette,\u201d where Jackson would provide viewers context through fast-paced documentary style lead-ins before each sketch. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe needed to tell people what what we were doing. Like fill people in on what is the Alamo or what was the Red Scare or whatever. But what that also does is it allows the sketch to be comedy, because you\u2019ve done the setup,\u201d Schaffer said. \u201cWe knew we needed a voice that would be instantly recognizable and have the gravitas, but also the bounce and the slap and the excitement, so it didn\u2019t feel like you were sitting in history class. We were like, \u2018Who can this be?\u2019 And Larry just said it should be Sam L. Jackson. He was our first choice and we just talked to his people. We said, \u2018Look, here\u2019s what it is\u2019 and he\u2019s like \u2018Yeah, I\u2019ll do that, I\u2019ll come in for a day\u2019 and he knocked it out of the park. We caught him right before he was going off to do his own TV show. We had to write write 28 of those rapid fire.\u201d <\/p>\n

Schaffer remained tight-lipped about other surprises set for future episodes, but said everyone involved in the show \u201creally came to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe experience I hope the audience has of \u2018Oh that\u2019s this person,\u2019 we had the same thing. Every day was different,\u201d he said. \u201cOne day you\u2019re in a World War I trench and then you\u2019re in the Boston Tea Party and then the Great Depression. Every day was a completely new movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLife, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness\u201d airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET\/PT on HBO and HBO Max.<\/p>\n

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