Is Larry David winding down? A brief Tweet went up and then quickly came down indicating that fact. We didn’t see the Tweet, but enough eyes caught it to get the news out there. It simply said, “Maybe you love the show. Maybe you hate the show. Maybe you don’t give a shit. In any event, shooting the last scene of the last episode of the final season.”
That note was dropped by Jon Hayman, a writer/producer for the series. It was accompanied by a picture of staff hovering over a monitor looking at the last shot. But come on, if you are a fan of CURB…don’t you think the mastermind, Larry David himself, would deliver the news? All this really means is two things. One, that the twelfth season is now ‘in the can’ as they say anf two, that David just doesn’t have a plot idea to promote a thirteenth season is a certainty. At least for now.
We already know that Larry David has had a unique deal with HBO. A number of years have passed between seasons before because David wanted a break or because a solid enough idea had yet to come to mind. The longest wait between seasons was six (6) years between Season Eight (2011) and Season Nine (2017). So, Hayman’s comment can be taken with a grain of salt. It does make you wonder though, with Zaslav as overseer. Hayman either pulled his tweet because it was an erroneous statement and/or because he didn’t have David’s blessing to make it.
Besides, in my book, it isn’t official until Larry David says it is so. Well, we haven’t heard from David since Hayman’s comment last week. But we have heard from another producer on the show, Jeff Schaffer. He has put out the statement that goes along with our exact thoughts. He stated, “Reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated. We literally just finished shooting last week. So, yeah, we’re done,” he said, adding that the crew, including Larry David himself, ends each season with the expectation that the series may or may not continue. “My first season was Season 5. And you know what the final episode of that season was called? ‘The End.’ Not ironically. That was 15 years ago. So, every season is the last season. It’s been this way forever. Larry’s put all the ideas he likes into the season. He’s the only one who thinks he’s never gonna have another good idea. So, of course, he’s done for a while. But you know, usually, he goes out and has spirited encounters with the west side of Los Angeles and then ideas come. So, we’re in the same spot we’re always in. It’s just business as usual.”
There you go, it isn’t over until Larry David says it is over. No premiere date has been sent for CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM Season 12 but we will keep a lookout for it.