The deleted ‘Curb your Enthusiasm’ scene in which Larry dies
During the 1990s, Seinfeld became one of the world’s most popular television shows, running for nine seasons before coming to an end in 1998. Due to the sheer success of the show, Larry David, who co-created the comedy with Jerry Seinfeld, could’ve easily sat back and relaxed for a while. Instead, he instantly started working on new projects – most significantly, Curb Your Enthusiasm.
However, before he could get himself stuck into a new show, the former Saturday Night Live star and writer directed his first feature film, Sour Grapes. It was a major flop, with Roger Ebert calling it “puckered, deflated and vinegary”. Deemed unfunny and, to many, simply offensive, the movie teased the potential downfall of David’s career as one of America’s most capable writers.
Luckily, David didn’t let the negativity surrounding Sour Grapes prevent him from succeeding. A few months later, he released an hour-long pilot for a new project titled Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm. Audiences were receptive to the episode, and the series was subsequently greenlit for a full season. David then changed up the style of the show, removing the mockumentary element he tried in the pilot, although he brought the meta nature that he also utilised in Seinfeld.
The show follows David as an exaggerated version of himself, often interacting with real figures from his life, such as Seinfeld and other cast members from the beloved comedy, as well as old friends like Richard Lewis. Simultaneously, David’s romantic relationships are fictional, with his wife, Cheryl, portrayed by Cheryl Hines, despite the real David being married to Laurie Lennard at the time.
Thus, Curb Your Enthusiasm leaves us asking how much of the series is based on reality and David’s real-life experiences and how much is completely fictional. Of course, that doesn’t really matter – David allows this to inform the work’s comedic aspect even further.
The show came to an end on February 4th, 2024, when its twelfth and final season was released. However, the crew initially believed that season 11 would be the last. Thus, they contemplated delivering an explosive end that would see David die. Jeff Schaffer, a showrunner for Curb, explained to The Hollywood Reporter, “I wanted to prepare as if it was the last one. So Larry kept falling into that pool without the fence and banging his head. We actually have a shot after he’d fallen in, of the still pool with just the envelope floating in the middle, and maybe adding one bubble…”
He added, “We shot as if it was going to be the last one ever. I had to at least prepare for it… This one lent itself too perfectly. We just got high and wide on the pool, with one light shining on it and the envelope floating in the middle. And we said, ‘OK, if this is how we go, this is how we go!'”
Instead, season 11 ended with David surviving his fall in the pool. While Curb has its dark moments, it is hard to imagine David’s beloved character being killed off.
