Larry David has returned to HBO Max with the American history-centered sketch comedy show Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness, following the conclusion of his long-running series Curb Your Enthusiasm — and it’s not just executive producers Barack and Michelle Obama who are along for the ride. Dozens of celebrity guests have joined the comedian to fill out the cast of historical figures.
This is not just a few cameos here and there — each episode of Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness has over a dozen celebrity guests, and the roster ranges from a few of David’s co-stars on Curb to the late Rob Reiner, in what became his final screen performance. Major Hollywood stars including Samuel L. Jackson and Lin-Manuel Miranda don the wigs and garb of decades and centuries past alongside television’s biggest names, like Jerry Seinfeld and Jon Hamm. The Hollywood Reporter is watching the series closely to make sure all these stars are accounted for — after all, they deserve some credit for spending time working with L.D.
New episodes of Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness air Friday nights at 9 p.m. on HBO and stream on HBO Max.
Episode 1 – “Livingston”
President Barack Obama as Himself; Samuel L. Jackson as The Narrator; Henry Winkler as John Hancock; Chris Parnell as Benjamin Franklin; Alan Tudyk as Thomas Jefferson; Alison Becker as Spectator 1; Mary Sohn as Spectator 2; Rodney J. Hobbs as Spectator 3; Richard Kind as Thomas Watson; Jake Reiner as Private Wallace; Mike Castle as Private Smith; Michael Chiklis as Sergeant; and Jurnee Smollett as Rosa Parks.
The series opens with an appearance by one of its EPs and a familiar face to all: former President Barack Obama, whose Higher Ground Productions is behind the historical sketch comedy show. Obama praises the nation he led for eight years as it reaches its semiquincentennial and dunks on David a bit — because why not? He’s America’s most beloved curmudgeon. The intro gives way to narration from Samuel L. Jackson, a go-to voiceover these days, giving Morgan Freeman a run for his money.
The first sketch has Winkler, Parnell and Tudyk as our founding fathers as they shut down the additions David’s Robert Livingston is trying to include in the grievances section of the Declaration of Independence. Next up, David portrays Alexander Graham Bell, forced to make awkward conversation with Curb cast member and national treasure Kind as Thomas Watson, as Bell debuts the telephone to a crowd of revelers already demanding text messaging and a variety of color options for the new invention. The annoying crowd features sitcom stalwarts Alison Becker (Parks and Recreation), Mary Sohn (A.P. Bio) and Rodney J. Hobbs (The Office, Modern Family).
The third sketch involves WWI trench warfare, where David portrays a cowardly soldier under the command of a sergeant, played by none other than The Shield‘s Michael Chiklis; his fellow soldiers are Comedy Bang Bang and Curb alum Mike Castle and Jake Reiner, the son of the late Rob Reiner (who also appeared on Curb). The premiere episode closes with David as an irritating bus passenger who sits next to famed civil rights icon Rosa Parks, perfectly cast with Jurnee Smollett in the role.
Episode 2 – “Farewell”
Samuel L. Jackson as The Narrator; Rita Wilson as Mavis Lewis; Jerry Seinfeld as William Clark; Matthew Jones as Tilden’s Aide; Rich Fulcher as Tilden’s Aide; Larry Wilmore as Barney; Kaley Cuoco as Gloria, the Widow; Colton Dunn as Dominic the Soup Server; Rob Reiner as George Washington; Jimmy Kimmel as Crowd Member; and Allan Havey as Crowd Member.
The second episode opens with a reunion between the two creators of the greatest sitcom of all time: Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. The comedy duo behind the ’90s hit Seinfeld portrays explorers Lewis and Clark, whose landmark military mission, commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, mapped the newly acquired Louisiana Territory and sought a water route to the Pacific Ocean. The gag is that the two are drinking buddies and it’s a bit too convenient they’re off to explore together for years on their own — as noted by Rita Wilson as Mavis Lewis, Meriwether Lewis’s long-suffering wife.
David then skewers the Electoral College as he portrays Samuel Tilden, who won the popular vote in the 1876 presidential election but fell one vote shy of an Electoral College majority, ultimately losing to Rutherford B. Hayes. Ranting ensues as Matthew Jones, a Curb alum, and Rich Fulcher of The Mighty Boosh portray his aides.
Next, in a Great Depression-set segment, David is joined by Larry Wilmore (formerly of late-night fame) and the incomparable Colton Dunn (Superstore, Parks and Recreation), and, in a series highlight, Kaley Cuoco as a grieving widow David is trying to use to cut in line for bread for his soup.
Finally, the episode ends with the much-talked-about final screen appearance of Rob Reiner; here he portrays George Washington as he discusses term limits for the U.S. presidency in front of a gathered crowd. It’s all a setup for David’s townsman to take veiled swipes at President Trump, who is not named but we all know who L.D. is talking about. Jimmy Kimmel delightfully turns up in some meta-commentary on his forever feud with Trump, too.
Episode 3 – “McCarthy”
Samuel L. Jackson as The Narrator; Lou DiMaggio as Colonial Man; Lin-Manuel Miranda as Michael Finney; Jordan Black as Samuel Cooper; Brad Morris as Joseph Warren; J.B. Smoove as Jonesy Dean Sharpe; Armoire Tru Valentino as Ottoman Jon Hamm as Orville Wright; Sean Hayes as Wilbur Wright; Michael McKean as Joseph Welch; and Rob Huebel as Senator Mundt.
The episode opens with David again playing his usual “guy caught up in a real historical moment” role as he crashes the Boston Tea Party [see flag No. 2 above]. Lin-Manuel Miranda, in fun stunt casting given his Broadway Revolutionary War pedigree from Hamilton, steals the scene as one of the Tea Party ringleaders. Comedian Lou DiMaggio appears too, playing off David’s character being left out of the rebellion.
Speaking of scene stealers, J.B. Smoove’s character Jonesey makes a stop along the Underground Railroad, flabbergasting David’s host with his demands and, soon, his arriving friends. Next, David plays a fictional, less-than-heroic Wright sibling squabbling with his wife (Isla Fisher) over her critique of his butter-churning skills, while Jon Hamm and Sean Hayes play the actual Orville and Wilbur Wright preparing for the first flight.
The episode’s closing and most talked-about segment features David himself playing Senator Joseph McCarthy. It also features SNL alum and Better Call Saul‘s Michael McKean as attorney Joseph Welch, delivering the famous “Have you no decency, sir?” rebuttal, and Rob Huebel (Human Giant, Transparent) as a senator helping moderate one of the infamous hearings.
Episode 4 – “Deepthroat”
Samuel L. Jackson as The Narrator; Beck Bennett as Bob Woodward; Ike Barinholtz as Henry Ford; Diallo Riddle as John Appleton; Katie Aselton as Sylvia Jordana Brewster; Beatrice Merle Dandridge as Clementine; Andrea Savage as Cordelia; Rory Scovel as Jefferson Davis; Judy Gold as Evelyn; Adam Lustick as Jonas Salk; and Gregg “Jeep” Perrie as Bobby.
The Watergate scandal gets the Larry David treatment: in the first sketch of the fourth episode, he portrays “Deep Throat,” the anonymous source who leaked details of the hotel break-in to Washington Post reporters. But David’s leaker doesn’t provide any useful information to SNL alum Beck Bennett’s Woodward when they meet in a parking lot — just trivial nonsense.
Next up, Ike Barinholtz plays the notoriously antisemitic Henry Ford, less than thrilled to be showing his new vehicle to David’s rabbi character. David then portrays President James Buchanan, hitting on each passing lady at a party where he’s introduced the concept of passed appetizers in lieu of dinner. Jordana Brewster of the Fast & Furious movies and The Other Two, and The League‘s Katie Aselton, are among the unfortunate ladies to cross his path; Diallo Riddle (Marlon, South Side) is Buchanan’s assistant, John Appleton.
The big talker of the episode is saved for the finale, with David reviving an old stand-up bit as the overly proud mother of Jonas Salk, Dora, bragging on her son to her neighbor Evelyn about his discovery of the polio vaccine. It gets personal as David mocks his former friend and former co-star Cheryl Hines’ husband, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Soon a young man named Bobby turns up to naysay, telling Dora Salk, “That vaccine’s gonna kill people. It’s gonna give them heart attacks!” A parody of the stark politics of the MMR vaccine ensues, as only David could script.
Episode 5 – “Lincoln”
Samuel L. Jackson as The Narrator; Don Johnson as Doc Holiday; Timothy Olyphant as Wyatt Earp; Johnno Wilson as Virgil Earp; Marc Menchaca as Joseph Clanton; Maximo Salas as Young Clanton; Bill Hader as Abraham Lincoln; Kathryn Hahn as Mary Todd Lincoln; Lennon Parham as Laura Keene; Jay Renshaw as John Wilkes Booth; and Seth Morris as Andrew Johnson.
Only two historical moments get the Larry David treatment in the fifth installment of the sketch series, but they are two pretty big moments. First, we’re at the O.K. Corral with Wyatt Earp (Timothy Olyphant) and Doc Holliday (Don Johnson), as a classic Curb-style obnoxious conversation about logistics gets applied to the location and timing of the famous shootout on Oct. 26, 1881. Marc Menchaca (Curb‘s Klansman Joe) plays a cowboy who calls out L.D.’s “pig-parking” job; Johnno Wilson as Virgil Earp and Maximo Salas as Young Clanton round out the cast of outlaws.
Abraham Lincoln’s strained relationship with his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, became Broadway fodder recently with Cole Escola’s Tony Award-winning turn in Oh, Mary!, and now it’s David’s turn to give us his take on the mentally unstable first lady. Bill Hader of SNL and Barry gives us a put-upon Lincoln who, in the sketch, connives with his chief of staff, Lawrence Butterfield, to get rid of Mary at Ford’s Theatre. A game of telephone ensues, with Lincoln wedged between the two as they watch Our American Cousin from box seats. The sketch’s second half has Butterfield and Mary arguing over a stolen sweater in another moment that could be straight out of Curb.
This story was originally published on July 17, and has been updated as new episodes release.
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