LARRY David – who never wanted to say from year to year whether he was going to keep doing his eccentric HBO comedy – is suddenly talking about doing “Curb Your Enthusiasm” for two, maybe three, more years.
David has typically agreed only to one-year deals – usually, a few months after telling the cast and crew that each season will be his last.
“It’s become sort of a running joke,” an industry source says.
No one has a clear answer why David has had an apparent change of heart.
But in recent weeks, David is telling friends he wants to keep doing “Curb” for several more seasons.
David made tens of millions as the co-creator of “Seinfeld,” but the show’s star Jerry Seinfeld is the one who achieved the most fame.
” ‘Seinfeld’ got him the money, but ‘Curb’ has gotten him recognition,” says an insider.
David announced last summer that he and his wife of 14 years, environmental activist Laurie David, were divorcing.
Since then, David has been making more public appearances and joked about starting to date again.
HBO declined to comment over the weekend but a network spokesman added: “Larry has a home at HBO as long as he likes.”
“Curb” is a semi-fictional comedy on which curmudgeonly David plays a character based on himself. On both the show and in real life, David can be prickly and difficult to deal with and was the inspiration for “Seinfeld’s” George Costanza character.
The success of “Curb,” now in its sixth season, has kick-started a new type of reality-like TV comedies, in which star play themselves – more or less.
Others have in included, “Fat Actress” (Kirstie Ally) and “The Two Coreys” (Corey Haim and Cory Feldman).
But the technique is exceedingly hard to make work and “Curb” is the only one that has lasted.