‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Season 12 Sets Premiere Date — Exclusive
“Curb Your Enthusiasm” will return for its 12th season on February 4, IndieWire has exclusively learned. HBO chief Casey Bloys had previously told reporters the sitcom would be back in February without giving a specific date.
A spokesperson for HBO declined comment on this story.
“Curb” is one of the few shows that can just come and go whenever its creator, Larry David, pleases. Season 11 started in October 2021; Season 10 premiered in January 2020. So he takes his time, and the continued quality of the series certainly justifies that approach. Of course, David couldn’t have rushed out Season 12 even if he wanted to: the writers guild strike lasted from May 2 to September 27 and the actors strike spanned July 14 to November 9.
Each new season of “Curb” comes with rumors it will be its last. Though we are still nearly two months away from the 12th season premiering, it is no exception to that rule.
“When you sign up to do a season of ‘Curb,’ you’re signing up to do the final season of ‘Curb,’” showrunner Jeff Schaffer told IndieWire back in August 2022. “And I finally figured out why. It’s because when Larry does a season, he puts every idea that he really likes into that season. So at the end of the season, there’s this hole — there aren’t any ideas that he really likes — so how could he possibly do another season? He’s the only person on the planet who doesn’t think he’s going to come up with more good ideas.”
A bit of an old interview to reference perhaps — though no new “Curb” episodes have aired since then — but the sentiment remains. Schaffer said he and David treat each season finale as a series finale — just in case. The Season 11 finale, “more than any, was built to be a (series) finale,” he said.
“We shot as if it was going to be the last one ever, Schaffer continued. “I had to at least prepare for it.”
Well, Larry (again) changed his mind, and he and Schaffer have been writing Season 12 since that interview.
On November 2, 2023, Bloys spoke with critics and reporters, including IndieWire, about Season 12 — a little bit, at least. “I was thinking last night that I think ‘Curb,’ in 12 seasons over 20 years, or something like that, has aired all over the schedule and it is a highlight wherever it ends up,” Bloys said.
And about those Season-12-as-the-end rumors, Bloys reiterated the network won’t be the side that ultimately makes such a decision.
“We generally leave that up to Larry, and I think he’s thinking about what he wants to do. He knows it’s kind of been an open invitation. So I think he’s going to decide whether he wants to continue or make this the final season. I would guess before it airs, he’ll decide.”
David is the co-creator of “Seinfeld” along with Jerry Seinfeld. The seventh season of “Curb” was dedicated to a “Seinfeld” reunion, and it was great — could Season 12 be a redo of the much-maligned “Seinfeld” series finale?
During an October standup set, Seinfeld told his Boston audience he had “a little secret” for them “about the ending” of “Seinfeld. “But I can’t really tell it, because it’s a secret,” Seinfeld teased. “Here’s what I’ll tell you… something is going to happen that has to do with that ending. (It) hasn’t happened yet.”
Well, “Curb” Season 12 hasn’t happened yet. Then again, neither has the Super Bowl, and Seinfeld’s cryptic bait could very well just be a big-game ad — or anything, really. When asked, Seinfeld’s co-stars from the classic NBC comedy have denied having any knowledge of what Jerry is talking about.
But David knows. “Just what you are thinking about, Larry and I have also been thinking about,” Seinfeld told the crowd.
