It’s finally official. After 12 seasons spread over 24 years, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” will come to an end. HBO announced that the twelfth season of the sitcom starring Larry David will premiere on February 4, which will have 10 episodes, and also that it will be the last. The series finale will be published in Max on April 7.
“As Curb comes to an end, I will now have the opportunity to finally shed this Larry David persona and become the person God intended me to be: the thoughtful, kind, caring, thoughtful human being I was until he derailed me.” portraying this evil character,” the creator and star joked. “And so, Larry David, I say goodbye to you. Your misanthropy will not be lost. And those of you who want to contact me, you can contact me at Doctors Without Borders,” David continued with a laugh, thus closing a successful cycle of almost a quarter of a century that has made him a multimillionaire (a fortune that adds to that he had already amassed as the author of “Seinfeld”).
David, who got his first job as a comedy writer and actor for the variety show “Fridays,” wrote for “Saturday Night Live” in the mid-1980s, and toward the end of that decade he joined forces with Jerry Seinfeld for the show that He would later be the star of the NBC network. The sitcom and its reruns around the world earned him a whopping $400 million according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Sitcoms
The long-lasting success of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” is not an isolated case. A dozen comedies have been able to replicate it, reaching over 10 seasons, and amassing millions in the process. One of the most paradigmatic cases is “Friend” (1994-2004), which aired for 10 years and 236 episodes, and today can still be seen on Max: it became one of the longest-running sitcoms, and even Years after its finale, the show remains popular with fans, resulting in an emotional reunion special in 2021.
The comedy that reflected the lives of a group of friends in their 20s trying to make it in New York City, eventually became a pop culture icon, earning 62 Emmy nominations. Another icon, revived with fury in Argentina, is “Married with Children (1987-1997), which lasted 10 seasons and 259 episodes. Captained by Ed O’Neil, the family comedy centered on the Bundy family, consisting of Al, his wife Peggy, and his lazy children, Kelly and Bud.
And there is more: “Cheer” (1982-1993), 11 years old and 275 episodes that can be seen on Paramount Plus; (won 27 Emmy Awards in 103 nominations); and its spinoff “Frasier” (1993-2004), which lasted 11 seasons and 264 episodes: Kelsey Grammer reprized her radio psychiatrist character for almost two decades (she won 27 Emmy Awards).
Background
Light comedy series took off in the mid-1950s and became established in the 1970s with shows like “Fantasy Island” and “The Love Cruise,” which aired in 1977 and had a revival in the early 1970s. 90 (13 seasons and 250 episodes).
At the same time, “The Jeffersons” (1975-1985), took over the screen for a decade and 253 episodes: the comedy focused on George and Louise Jefferson, who lived in an elegant skyscraper on New York’s East Side; and marked a milestone in terms of inclusivity by becoming the second-longest-running series with a predominantly black cast (it earned 14 Emmy nominations and won a handful of them).
And even more importantly, the comedy that changed the way we do humor: M*A*S*H (1972 – 1983), the war satire that lasted 11 seasons and 256 episodes (now seen on Hulu). The name of the comedy means “Mobile Army Surgical Hospital” and focuses on medical personnel stationed in South Korea: it installed black humor that was all the rage, so much so that the final episode is the most watched in the history of American television. , only surpassed recently by the soccer world cup final.
Casts
Closer in time, “Will & Grace” is recorded with two cycles (from 1998 to 2006, and from 2017 to 2020) that reached 11 seasons and 246 episodes. The cast made up of Eric McCormack (Will), Debra Messing (Grace), Sean Hayes (Jack) and Megan (Karen) not only worked perfectly, it served to break down itches about the gay universe between the late 90s and the 1990s. 2000 (won 18 Emmy Awards with 88 nominations).
In the same vein, “Modern Family” (2009-2020), with 11 seasons and 250 episodes, served as a portrait of blended families. A sustained success in a brilliant cast (led by Ed O’Neill) that garnered the Emmy for Best Series during its first five seasons, relegating other contemporary shows such as “Two and a Half Men” (2003-2015), which was extended for 12 years and 262 episodes; or “The Big Bang Theory” (2007-2019), with 13 years and 279 episodes.
The first, starring Charlie Sheen, focused on a bachelor who writes jingles, and who lives with his brother Alan (Jon Cryer), a divorced chiropractor, and his son in their beachfront house. Sheen left the series in 2011 to be replaced by Ashton Kutcher who gave it a second wind, turning it into a TV hit.
“The Big Bang Theory,” meanwhile, ran for 13 years, premiering 12 full seasons in that time.
The comedy gained popularity among audiences for its witty stories and characters: four best friends, all nerdy scientists working at the California Institute of Technology. Sheldon (Jim Parsons) got his own spin-off that tells the story of his childhood. It won seven Emmy Awards in 46 nominations.
Animated
With more than 33 seasons and 750 episodes, there is no one who can surpass the success of “The Simpsons”, the longest-running sitcom of all time. After all, it’s been on the air since 1989, winning 35 Emmy Awards, the most ever for an animated series.
However, one of its inspired satellites is following in its footsteps: South Park started in 1997 and ran more than 325 episodes, telling the bawdy childhood adventures of Kyle Stan Cartman and Kenny. Like other animated comedies, the show relied on dark and surreal humor, as well as creating jokes that satirize a wide range of topics.
A criticism of the “American way” that is also the axis of “The King of the Hill” (13 seasons and 259 episodes); “American dad” (with more than 350 submissions); and “Family Guy” (more than 409 episodes). “King of the Hill” is one of Fox’s most underrated animated comedies despite winning two Emmy Awards during its time on the air. The series debuted on Fox in mid-1997 and quickly became a hit. “American father!” It started in 2005, the fruit of the imagination of Seth MacFarlane, who followed “Family Guy.” The first revolves around an upper-class American family whose patriarch works for the CIA.
The family included a stay-at-home mom, a hippie teenage daughter, a goofy high school student, a talking fish, and an alien. Meanwhile, Family Guy, one of the most watched and talked about television shows thanks to its black comedy, focused on the Griffins, with a range of characters ranging from the clueless father to the evil genius baby. An atypical humor that renewed the humor script long before social networks.
Others
Only one category manages to rival humor in terms of longevity on screen and that is the police genre. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” with 21 seasons on NBC since 1999, holds the record. But it is not the only exponent. There are “NCSI” and “Criminal Minds” on that podium, with figures that few series can aspire to.
“Supernatural,” about two brothers who hunt demons, managed to run for 15 seasons and pave the way for many other infernal versions. While “Grey’s Anatomy” did the same among medical series with its 19 seasons. A brand that pivots on the epic of the old over-the-air TV and that contrasts with the short seasons of short episodes of streaming,
by RN
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