Larry David is returning to television with the historical sketch comedy series Life, Larry And The Pursuit Of Unhappiness, a project that also brings former U.S. President Barack Obama into the creative mix as both producer and on-screen guest.
by Paul Cashmere
Larry David is heading back to HBO with a new comedy that places his famously abrasive persona directly into the pages of American history. The seven-episode sketch series Life, Larry And The Pursuit Of Unhappiness will premiere on Friday, June 26, marking the comedian’s first major television project since the end of his long-running show Curb Your Enthusiasm.
The new series arrives with an unusual partnership behind it. Former U.S. President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama serve as executive producers through their Higher Ground production company. Barack Obama will also appear in an undisclosed role in one of the sketches.
The premise reflects David’s longstanding style of humour, placing awkward social behaviour in situations where it clearly does not belong. In this case, the setting stretches across American history, with David and a rotating ensemble cast appearing in short sketches that reinterpret historic moments through his particular brand of uncomfortable comedy.
Each of the seven episodes will contain around four sketches. The show was written by David alongside longtime collaborator Jeff Schaffer, who also directs the series.
Schaffer has worked closely with David for years as a writer and producer on Curb Your Enthusiasm, helping shape the improvisational tone that defined the show across its twelve seasons.
The involvement of Barack and Michelle Obama adds an unexpected dimension to the production. Their company Higher Ground has built a reputation producing film, television and documentary projects since launching after the Obamas left the White House in 2017. The company has earned multiple industry nominations and awards, including an Academy Award for the documentary American Factory.
According to the official description for the new series, the Obamas originally planned to develop a project celebrating the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026. That concept changed dramatically once David became involved.
“President and Mrs. Obama wanted to honour America’s 250th anniversary and celebrate the unique history of our nation on this special occasion,” the series logline explains. “But then Larry David called.”
Barack Obama acknowledged the unusual collaboration in a statement about the project. He joked that despite years navigating international diplomacy, the experience of working with the famously uncompromising comedian proved a new challenge.
“I’ve sat across the table from some of the world’s most difficult leaders and wrestled with some of our most intractable problems,” Obama said. “Nothing has prepared me for working with Larry David.”
The cast list also blends returning members of the Curb Your Enthusiasm orbit with a range of well-known actors playing historical figures.
Bill Hader appears as Abraham Lincoln, with Kathryn Hahn portraying Mary Todd Lincoln. Jon Hamm and Sean Hayes take on the roles of aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright, while Susie Essman plays women’s rights campaigner Susan B. Anthony.
David will also reunite on screen with Jerry Seinfeld in a sketch that imagines the explorers Lewis and Clark navigating their famous expedition. Their partnership carries additional significance given their shared history. In the late 1980s, David and Seinfeld co-created Seinfeld, one of television’s most influential sitcoms, which ran for nine seasons and reshaped the structure of modern television comedy.
Several other actors from the Curb Your Enthusiasm universe are also set to appear, including Jeff Garlin and J.B. Smoove, reinforcing the sense that the project acts as a loose continuation of David’s comic world even while shifting its setting centuries into the past.
A short preview released ahead of the premiere offers a glimpse of the show’s approach. In the clip, David plays a character caught in the celebrations marking the end of World War II on V-J Day in 1945. As crowds gather in Times Square and couples embrace in spontaneous celebration, David attempts to join in, only to discover that not every victory kiss is welcomed.
The scene captures the awkward social misjudgment that has long been central to David’s comedy, placing his character in a moment of national celebration where his instincts prove badly out of step with everyone around him.
The series was announced publicly during the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, where David and Schaffer presented early footage and discussed the concept behind the show. The timing of the project coincides with the approaching 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026, a milestone that will be widely marked across the country.
By inserting David’s famously irritable persona into those historical milestones, Life, Larry And The Pursuit Of Unhappiness appears set to treat national mythology with the same uncomfortable honesty that defined Curb Your Enthusiasm for more than two decades.
The seven-episode series will debut on HBO on June 26, with new episodes released weekly until the finale on August 7.
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