‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Boss: Post-COVID Larry David Still “Fraught With Problems” in Season 11 - Hollywood Reporter

With the pandemic in the HBO comedy's rearview mirror, executive producer Jeff Schaffer tells The Hollywood Reporter what viewers can expect: "We wanted to figure out how many eight balls we can get Larry behind to start a season.".

On the last day of filming on the new season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David had a request.

Larry said, ‘This is crazy.

TV’s Larry David, as Schaffer explains, is back in full form in a post-COVID world.

Speaking with THR, the executive producer talks about getting David on board to film during a pandemic, teases the storylines and guest stars that have him feeling excited, and leaves the door wide open for more Curb after this 10-episode season wraps.

All through the summer, we were going through these protocols of how to keep the set as safe as possible because everyone had one big idea in mind, which was, “Well, hey, let’s not kill Larry David.” (Laughs.) And also, by the way, we have to first convince him to do the show.

We went through all of this stuff and then presented to Larry, “Hey, I think we can do the show in COVID without vaccinations; I think we can do it safely and here’s how — it’s just going to cost a lot more.” And he was pretty cool?

How was Larry David, a known germophobe, on set.

All on location and in people’s houses?” And it’s a testament to how much we don’t like writing.

But the fact that it had already been done — writing is such a painful process — once we had done all that torture, it was like, “Let’s have some fun and do this thing!” I’m not going to let it sit for a year?

How did you and Larry make the decision to set your story in a post-COVID world.

And it’s going to look very weird if our actors are not in masks, but everyone sitting around them at the restaurant is.

When we wrote last spring, we knew we were going to come out in the fall of 2021 and we said: Look, there will be vaccines so everyone in California will be able to act normally — or at least act like people in Florida have been acting for the last two years?

We had done some stuff on the show last year, like when Larry wore the MAGA hat out of social obligations.

This season, Larry is going to get more politically involved on a local level, which I think is the kind of grassroots change we can all get behind.

And we even address some issues of anti-Semitism and hate groups this year, as only Larry David can.

How would you describe working with Larry David during lockdown?

It’s like a three-person team: Larry, me and the dry erase board.

I know I sound like a 90-year-old man missing a typewriter, but it’s faster that way.

Now that you’ve released and have gotten some feedback, does it feel like you made the right decision.

In fact, even Larry David sees it as wish-fulfillment!

Because I realized it’s more fun to play Larry David than it is to be Larry David.” We wanted the tone to say that we’re aware of what life has been like for the past two years, but we still want to do Curb.

We’ve already been so germophobic, like last season when he had his coffee shop.

The consequences of last season sort of start you off for this season.

It’s good background noise for how this season starts?

This first episode sets up many storylines to come, including Larry pitching a show, called “Young Larry,” to Netflix and coming up on some casting complications?

When we end this episode, Young Larry is getting made the way so many projects do in L.A.

There’s this old story that I love that is a great depiction of Hollywood, and the way they talk about Hollywood is that it’s like sitting down at a table and they give you the best meal you’ve ever had; a plate of all the food you love.

And the best metaphor for Hollywood I’ve ever heard is everyone just goes, “Eh, I’ll eat around it.” And so, this season, let’s see if Larry can eat around this.

We weren’t trying to tackle Hollywood, per se, we just wanted to figure out how many eight balls we can get Larry behind to start a season.

How big of a role will his new star, Maria Sofia (Keyla Monterroso Mejia) and her father (Marques Ray) play in Larry’s life as his Young Larry production moves forward.

Maria Sofia and her father are going to be following Larry around like a bad credit score.

A fun fact: Marques played the concierge at the hotel last season in episode four, when Larry was trying to buy the coffee beans.

A lot of it is based on Larry as a young man when he was living at home and trying to do stand-up.

We will definitely see part of this show as we move forward and learn a little bit more about Larry as a young man in Brooklyn trying to be a stand-up comic?

Especially when we’re casting and doing stories, Larry is very aware that he’s a certain age, and he wants to make sure that his dating co-stars aren’t too young!

You’re going to see this season that the two of them have some amazing confrontations?

I’m very excited for people to see the episode where Larry tries to get Woody Harrelson to be in his show.

There were a few parts where we tried a virtual audition with Larry and it’s a weird thing to do an improv audition over Zoom.

He had surgery and had been going through physical therapy, and he didn’t feel ready when we started.

In his typical way he said, “I’m so bummed, do it without me.” But Larry said, “No, you’re going to make it.” Toward the end of the season, he was feeling 100 percent better and we were able to get him in.

We just think it’s going to happen, and we got really lucky again, because it happened.

But this year, we thought opening with this moody, noir-y death would be a surprising and interesting way to start the season: waking up with Larry finding a guy dead in the pool.

It’s a non-comedy scene that is going to start the ball rolling on a lot of comedy scenes.

There is so much stuff we’re setting up in the first episode that is all going to be important as we move forward.

He’s going to be trying to fill that seat throughout the season.

In spite of the COVID of it all, you said you and Larry set out to make the show you wanted, no compromises.

It would have been an accomplishment to just make it through without anyone getting sick, but I think we made it through and made a really great season, too.

You and Larry seem to feel the same way after every season: He says he is out of ideas, but you are more confident he will come up with enough for another show.

How do you feel about a season 12 right now.

I feel about season 12 the way people feel about the afterlife.

Our ancient ancestors didn’t wear clothes and somebody said, “Put on clothes,” and it probably seemed irritating a bit before you realize that it’s not really so bad.

Because of Larry David

The reason why it exists, the reason why it’s so relevant, and the reason why it could continue is all Larry