Larry David is officially returning to HBO with a brand new comedy project, and this time he is bringing some big names along for the ride. The Curb Your Enthusiasm creator has teamed up with former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama for a sketch series that takes a humorous look at American history. The show, titled Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: An Almost History of America, will debut this summer, and the cast list includes everyone from Bill Hader to Jerry Seinfeld.
The project was announced back in 2024, but fans finally got a proper look at what David has been working on during a panel at the SXSW festival on March 13, 2026. Along with revealing the official title and release date, David and his longtime collaborator Jeff Schaffer showed a clip from the series and shared some stories about what it was like working with a former president.
When and Where to Watch the New Series
Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness will premiere on Friday, June 26, at 9 pm ET/PT on HBO. The seven-episode limited series will also be available to stream on HBO Max.
New episodes will air weekly, with the season finale scheduled for August 7, 2026. Each episode will run for approximately 30 minutes and contain about four sketches.
For viewers outside the United States, the series will be available on HBO’s international partners and streaming platforms. In the UK, it will air on Sky Atlantic and stream on NOW. Canadian viewers can catch it on Crave, while Australian audiences can stream it on Binge and Foxtel. Indian viewers will be able to watch the series on JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar, as part of their content sharing agreements with HBO.
The Unlikely Partnership with the Obamas
The official logline for the series sets up the premise perfectly: “President and Mrs. Obama wanted to honor America’s 250th anniversary and celebrate the unique history of our nation on this special occasion…But then Larry David called.”
The Obamas’ production company, Higher Ground, is executive producing the series alongside David and Schaffer. During the SXSW panel, David shared some details about his working relationship with the former president.
Schaffer described how Obama would often tease David during their meetings. “He was ragging on your golf game, ragging on how much sunscreen you wear,” Schaffer said during the panel.
David responded in typical fashion. “I said, ‘I’m sorry my father wasn’t born in Kenya,’” David recalled, getting a huge laugh from the audience.
The collaboration hit a small bump when Obama tried to give notes on a sketch. According to Schaffer, Obama spent 45 minutes praising David before offering a suggestion that David did not agree with. When Obama explained that during his presidency he always listened to experts, David had a quick response.
“I said, ‘I’m president here,’” David told the crowd.
A Massive Cast of Guest Stars
The show features a rotating cast of comedy heavyweights and familiar faces from Curb Your Enthusiasm. Here is the full list of confirmed guest stars and the historical figures they will play:
- Bill Hader as Abraham Lincoln
- Kathryn Hahn as Mary Todd Lincoln
- Jon Hamm and Sean Hayes as the Wright Brothers
- Jerry Seinfeld as Clark to Larry David’s Lewis (Lewis and Clark)
- Susie Essman as Susan B. Anthony
- Jeff Garlin, J.B. Smoove, and Vince Vaughn in undisclosed roles
- Barack Obama in an undisclosed cameo role
- Lin-Manuel Miranda in an undisclosed role
- Joe Manganiello appears in the first clip as a sailor
The cast also includes several other Curb Your Enthusiasm alumni, though Cheryl Hines will not be appearing in the series.
What the Show Will Look Like
Schaffer described the series as “‘Curb’ in costume” during the SXSW panel. Like Curb Your Enthusiasm, the show will not use traditional scripts. Instead, each sketch has an outline, but most of the dialogue is improvised by the cast.
The first clip shown at SXSW features David in a recreation of the famous V-J Day in Times Square photograph. In the iconic image, a Navy sailor kisses a stranger in the street after the end of World War II. In David’s version, he sees the moment happening and decides to copy it by grabbing a random woman and kissing her.
The woman does not react well. She calls David a “fucko,” and soon he finds himself surrounded by an angry mob in Times Square, with someone in the crowd calling him a “pervo-Nazi.”
Schaffer offered his own take on why now is the perfect time for a comedy series about American history. Referring to the country’s 250th anniversary, he said, “It’s sort of like throwing a birthday party for your friend that’s in rehab. He’s fucked up. But I love him.”
The Creative Team Behind the Scenes
Jeff Schaffer, who directed many episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm and served as an executive producer on that series, wrote and directed the new show alongside David.
The executive producing team includes:
- Larry David
- Jeff Schaffer
- Barack Obama
- Michelle Obama
- Ethan Lewis
- Vinnie Malhotra
Higher Ground, the Obamas’ production company, has produced projects like the Oscar-winning American Factory, Crip Camp, Rustin, and Leave the World Behind.
This marks David’s first project since Curb Your Enthusiasm ended with its twelfth season in 2024.
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A Few More Details
The seven-episode limited series will air weekly on HBO, with the finale arriving just in time for the actual 250th anniversary celebrations later in 2026.
The show’s full title, Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: An Almost History of America, plays on the famous phrase from the Declaration of Independence while adding David’s signature pessimistic twist.
During the SXSW panel, Schaffer also made a joke about HBO’s current corporate situation, calling the network “the cool division of Oracle” as the company goes through its merger with Paramount under Larry Ellison’s ownership.
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