Jeff Schaffer on Obama’s Notes, Curb in History

When “Curb Your Enthusiasm” concluded its 24-year run in 2024, fans were concerned that this would be the last time they would see Larry David on screen. He had said that the HBO sitcom was over for most of its run, and with season 12 he finally called it quits. (“I said it before,” he said Variety at the time. “But I wasn’t even 76 when I said it.”)

But his longtime collaborator Jeff Schaffer — who joined “Seinfeld” as a writer in his early 20s before becoming a major force behind the scenes of “Curb” — always knew David would be back on TV.

“I think we’re like a plague of locusts, but you don’t have to wait 17 years,” he says via Zoom ahead of the premiere of “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness,” a historical sketch comedy show he describes as “Curb in costume.” (Schaffer co-created the project with David and directed all seven episodes.)

The series, which premiered on HBO on June 26, is executive produced by Barack Obama, who also appears in a sketch. In typical David fashion, the “Curb” star plays selfish, petty and unfiltered men throughout history. For every Founding Father who wanted to free the colonies from British tyranny, there was a Larry (often referred to here as Lawrence) who suggested that sharing desserts and umbrellas should be banned by the Declaration of Independence. And in this version of history, Larry takes a stand for Rosa Parks when a white bus driver demands she give up her seat—not because Larry cares about civil rights, but because he’s sitting in the aisle and won’t get up.

In other words, the show is a celebration of America’s 250th birthday, but one that puts a small cake on the country’s face.

I didn’t think I’d see another project from you and Larry so soon after “Curb.”

‘Curb’ ended and we were working on some ideas. Then this kind appeared. Larry will pass up any opportunity to do things that are presented to him. He is the great forerunner. But he was interested in this and we just started writing.

When you say this idea just “appeared,” it came from the Obamas, right?

Higher Ground’s Ethan Lewis reached out on behalf of the Obamas. They wanted to do something for the 250th, and Larry, an American history buff, was interested in the idea of ​​Larry going through history. To be honest, the seeds of this started a few years earlier when we did this commercial for FTX — dear people, I don’t know what happened to them. Basically, Larry went through world history and dumped every major invention. He remembered how much he loved wearing costumes, and he forgot how much he hated wearing wigs.

So Larry brought attention to this idea very quickly, in a way that Larry rarely draws attention to. It helps that he and President Obama have a very good relationship, as you see on the show. From the first meeting it was: “We did that received to get these two on screen together.

When “Curb” ended, there was concern among fans that Larry might be done making television. You never shared that concern.

Larry can’t sit still. He’s like a prostitute who has sex when he’s not working. He is always writing and thinking about things. We were actually in the beginning stages of thinking about other things we could do after “Curb.” There was a movie we were thinking about, and there was a possible limited series we were thinking about, but this seemed appealing for different reasons. One was working with the Obamas, and two was that the show had a deadline. It should have been done by now for the 250th.

The idea of ​​it being an event appealed to us. We said we would do six episodes, and that will be that. It didn’t feel like it had the full weight of a series where you have to worry about season 2 or season 3. It was just a joke. But we ended up doing so many sketches that we made seven episodes. What really appealed to Larry, honestly, is that he loves American history. He studies it. This is a man with the Gettysburg Address in his bathroom.

Is that really him?

Yes, his office bathroom has the Gettysburg Address. That’s where we came that “Curb” bit by. He doesn’t want to waste his urination time. Like his urination, those fallen soldiers of Gettysburg will not be in vain.

“Life, Larry…” has a very “Curb” sensibility. Were those other ideas you and Larry were considering – the movie and the limited series – similar?

We never stray far from the ‘Curb’ sensibility. Larry still has ideas. I always say, “Until you can walk outside and not be annoyed by your fellow man, we have a job.” So the question is: “What kind of vessel do you pour those ideas into?” Is it a film with fun ‘Curb’ ideas? A limited series or a historical sketch comedy?

Since “Seinfeld,” Larry’s comedy has always been “big thing, little thing.” It’s like, “Hey, we’re going to make our own pilot. Wait, who stole the raisins?” There is always a combination of something big, you should what you care about and the little thing that somehow dominates your attention. When you go into these historical events, everyone knows that the big thing is already in front of you. So we can just have fun with the little thing, and that combination really excited Larry.

How much is this show scripted, compared to the sketch structure of “Curb”?

The writing process and shooting process was very similar to ‘Curb’. There wasn’t a full script, there was an outline. We probably had a few more lines in there for historical stuff, but it’s still an outline. And then we got some nice people to come and play with Larry. Everyone came over for a day; the only person there for two days was Kathryn Hahn, just because of the locations. So you have your outline and every scene is a live rewrite, same as ‘Curb’. What was different was the way we shot it. This is much more cinematic than ‘Curb’. Larry didn’t want them to feel like they were sketches; he wanted them to feel like short films or small films. We’re on site: we built the World War I trench and the Wright Flyer. Our production team and costume team put a lot of effort into making it look as real as possible, and then we just put Larry in and watch all hell break loose.

Were there certain castings that immediately clicked during brainstorming?

We started by writing down a list of major and minor events and asked, “Which ones do we have an angle on today?” One of the first obvious things was that Larry is the guy who told Lincoln to go watch that play. We knew that arc from the beginning, and Larry said, “Kathryn Hahn should play Mary Todd Lincoln, and boy, it would be funny if Bill Hader was Lincoln.” When we started writing Lewis and Clark, it was about a boys’ weekend. It had a ‘honeymoon’ feel to it and we thought, ‘Let’s put Larry and Jerry in a ’50s sitcom tone.’

Were there any historical events that you researched but ultimately couldn’t find an angle for?

We played with Yalta for a while. We had a Gold Rush sketch that we wrote and rewrote, but we couldn’t figure out the ending. We put in a new ending and – well, it’s not in the show. There were funny parts, but the angle wasn’t good enough.

Did you learn anything about history while making the show that surprised you?

There were a lot of things. Larry says, “We should do a popular vote with Samuel J. Tilden.” I’m like, “Samuel J. WHO?“Sometimes we got in through the investigation. Everyone thinks Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, but there was actually a committee of five, with Jefferson and Adams and Franklin and Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston. Actually, they all made the first attempt, so That was our approach. Larry is Robert Livingston, and this is his first draft. Our main point was that Larry was rarely listened to, and that’s a good thing for history, because if he were, there would be dire consequences.

The funny thing the show highlights is the idea that people throughout history – even people involved in these world-changing events – probably talked about really stupid things and expressed petty grievances.

As long as there have been people, there have been minor complaints about people. It’s not like trash talk started in the 20th century.

I’m curious about Obama’s role in producing the show. Has he ever used his executive power? No one will say no to the president if he asks for a certain guest star or more budget.

Using a presidential veto to get more money would have been great. I wish I had thought of that. “The president needs three more days of filming. He demands it.” We should have done that.

But the president’s input – and [Higher Ground’s] Those of Ethan Lewis and Joe Paulsen were invaluable. From our first meeting he had read a lot of stuff and really liked it. He gave some notes about something and Larry said, “Yes, yes, yes, we got it.” And the president says, “I spent half an hour talking about how funny everything is. I give you one note and you get into a defensive mood.” The president said, “While I was in the Oval Office, I sought advice and listened to my advisors. the President of the United States.” And Larry just says, “Yeah, but I’m the president of this.”

As you said, this show is being billed as a limited series. But if you get the chance, would you like to do more of it?

We had a blast. I mean, with Larry you’re talking about the guy who said every season of “Curb” was the last season. There’s nothing he enjoys more than finishing something, but he also never stops working. It’s one of Larry’s wonderful paradoxes: I can’t wait to finish, always starting something. I don’t know if enough time has passed where he’s forgotten how much he hated wearing wigs, but we’ll see. We’re going to do it something. There’s a lot more history on the table, that’s for sure.

So you two definitely aren’t hanging up your hats after this?

No, no. Like I said, people are still annoying.

This interview has been edited and condensed.