Larry David and Barack Obama launch HBO history satire series

Barack Obama found himself in Larry David’s notes pile, and David did not treat the former president like an executive producer with veto power. Jeff Schaffer said Obama offered creative comments on Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness, but David brushed them off, prompting Obama to fire back: “When I was in the Oval Office, I took advice and listened to my advisors, and I was the president of the United States.”

That exchange sits at the center of HBO’s seven-episode limited series, which premiered Friday at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT and streams on HBO Max, with weekly installments leading to a finale scheduled for Friday, August 7. The project, titled Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: An Almost History of America, was announced at SXSW in Austin during a panel with David and Schaffer moderated by Los Angeles Times critic Lorraine Ali.

The series is built around America’s 250th anniversary and uses a historical sketch-comedy format to send David through major moments in U.S. history. HBO’s logline: “Those who don’t know history... are doomed to watch Larry David repeat it.” In the show, David appears in costume across historical vignettes that include figures such as the Founding Fathers and Rosa Parks, extending the same deadpan, self-sabotaging persona that made Curb Your Enthusiasm a long-running fixture for 24 years before it ended in 2024.

Schaffer called the show “‘Curb’ in costume,” and the project developed with Higher Ground Productions, the Obamas’ company, after Ethan Lewis reached out on behalf of Barack and Michelle Obama. Higher Ground is executive producing the series alongside Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Ethan Lewis and Vinnie Malhotra, and the company has earned three Academy Award nominations, 12 Emmy nominations and three Grammy nominations.

David is “the fastest no in show business,” Schaffer said. The project moved forward once the historical premise, the Obamas’ involvement and David’s own interest in American history lined up. The seeds of the series partly came from an earlier Larry David FTX commercial, which reminded him how much David likes being in costume, even if he hates wigs.