Life, Larry Trailer Debuts on HBO With Seinfeld Reunion

HBO has released the first trailer for Life, Larry, And The Pursuit Of Unhappiness, a seven-episode Larry David sketch comedy about American history. The series premieres Friday, June 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and streams on HBO Max, with new episodes rolling out weekly through an August 7 finale.

The show is written and directed by Jeff Schaffer, who was the showrunner on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Barack and Michelle Obama executive produce through their Higher Ground banner, alongside the company’s Ethan Lewis and Vinnie Malhotra. The trailer lands the premise in a logline: “Those who don’t know history… are doomed to watch Larry David repeat it,” per the official trailer press release and series details.

The Trailer Opens on a Vintage Plane

The trailer opens on a runway in period costume, with Jon Hamm, Sean Hayes, and David awaiting repairs for take-off inside a vintage biplane. The official Life, Larry trailer is on YouTube.

• Jon Hamm, Sean Hayes, and David waiting inside a vintage biplane for repairs (the Wright brothers).
• David and Seinfeld in fur caps and wool coats heading out on a great adventure as Lewis and Clark.
• The four-line fishing-rod exchange between David and Seinfeld that closes the trailer.
• Jane Krakowski, Isla Fisher, Toby Huss, and Joe Manganiello in additional period costumes.
• Barack Obama appearing in a sketch with David.

The exchange that closes the trailer is the bit Seinfeld and David staged together. “Bring your fishing rod!”, David says. “Oh yeah!”, Seinfeld replies, and the four-line bit lands as the trailer’s punchline, with Seinfeld offering to use his hat as a net.

The trailer also shows Jane Krakowski, Isla Fisher, Toby Huss, and Joe Manganiello in additional period costumes. Barack Obama appears in a sketch with David, a pairing the March SXSW panel confirmed. HBO had trailed the show with two earlier previews, including a March SXSW series reveal and a May teaser. The full trailer is on YouTube and HBO’s site.

The trailer confirms the show’s structure, with David playing multiple roles across the series, including one of the Wright brothers and Lewis of Lewis and Clark. Each episode is half an hour.

The Cast Takes On American History

The roles named so far cover three centuries of American history in five sketches. Bill Hader plays Abraham Lincoln opposite Kathryn Hahn as Mary Todd Lincoln. Jon Hamm and Sean Hayes are the Wright brothers, and Susie Essman, a Curb holdover, plays Susan B. Anthony. David and Seinfeld are Lewis and Clark, the two-man expedition that anchors the trailer’s longest segment.

Other Curb alums are aboard, including Jeff Garlin and J.B. Smoove, with their specific sketch roles not yet confirmed. Vince Vaughn guest-stars. Jane Krakowski, Isla Fisher, Toby Huss, and Joe Manganiello show up in the trailer in period costumes whose sketch roles are not yet specified. The trailer confirms David as the central performer, with the rest of the cast rotating through historical figures and cameo roles.

How Each Half-Hour Is Built

Each half-hour averages four sketches, per the network’s rollout plans. The current logline is short and pointed: “Those who don’t know history… are doomed to watch Larry David repeat it.”

That logline is a rewrite of the original pitch. When HBO first ordered the series in 2025, the pitch ran differently: “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.” Both versions are on HBO’s press materials, and the show is set around the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, also known as the Semiquincentennial.

Once ‘Curb’ ended, I celebrated with a three-day foam party. After a violent allergic reaction to the suds, I yearned to return to my simple life as a beekeeper, harvesting organic honey from the wildflowers in my meadow. Alas, one day my bees mysteriously vanished. And so, it is with a heavy heart that I return to television, hoping to ease the loss of my beloved hive.

That quote is from Larry David, executive producer, writer, and star of the new series, in HBO’s 2025 announcement. David and Schaffer write every episode of Life, Larry, and Schaffer directs. The two worked together on Seinfeld, ran Curb Your Enthusiasm together for most of its run, and collaborated on the TV movie Clear History, in which David starred; per the 2025 announcement of the sketch series, Schaffer also co-created The League and Dave at FX.

The Obamas’ Higher Ground Pivots Past Netflix

Higher Ground was founded by the Obamas in 2018. The company has spent most of its life as a Netflix-exclusive shop, and is now in the process of going independent as that deal expires, according to a report on Higher Ground’s move past Netflix.

In an interview on the History Channel in April, Barack Obama said the company is “in a process now of transitioning to a more independent [future] where we can work with a bunch of different studios.” The Larry David series is among the projects Higher Ground has set up at HBO, Apple, and other studios. The company’s existing Netflix pipeline, which includes a series version of “All the Sinners Bleed” and the FTX-focused “The Altruists”, still has shows to deliver.

I’ve sat across the table from some of the world’s most difficult leaders and wrestled with some of our most intractable problems. Nothing has prepared me for working with Larry David.

The partnership sits inside Higher Ground, the production company the Obamas founded in 2018. Barack Obama, who is listed as an executive producer for Higher Ground along with Michelle Obama, Vinnie Malhotra, and Ethan Lewis, framed the collaboration in plain terms when HBO first ordered the series: “I’ve sat across the table from some of the world’s most difficult leaders and wrestled with some of our most intractable problems. Nothing has prepared me for working with Larry David.” The company has produced Leave the World Behind, the basketball series Court of Gold, Crip Camp, Rustin, and American Symphony, picking up three Academy Award nominations, 12 Emmy nominations, and three Grammy nominations along the way. The existing Netflix pipeline also includes a series version of “All the Sinners Bleed” and “The Altruists,” about cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

The pivot is part of a wider reshaping of the company’s pipeline. A 2025 report on the Higher Ground deal terms put the relationship on a non-exclusive footing for the first time.

Higher Ground’s track record, by the numbers:

• 7 episodes in Life, Larry
• 4 sketches per episode
• 12 seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000 to 2024)
• 55 Emmy nominations across Curb’s run
• Higher Ground: 3 Academy Award nominations, 12 Emmy nominations, 3 Grammy nominations

The Curb Inheritance, and Where It Stops

Curb Your Enthusiasm ran for 12 seasons on HBO, ending in 2024. The show picked up 55 Emmy nominations across that run, the bulk of them under the same writer-director team that is now behind Life, Larry. David and Schaffer run the new show together, as they did Curb.

Schaffer was the showrunner and frequent director on Curb. He and David also worked together on Seinfeld and the TV movie Clear History, and Schaffer went on to co-create The League and Dave at FX.

The format is the meaningful change. Curb was a single-camera sitcom with a recurring cast and a continuing story. Life, Larry is a half-hour sketch series with four sketches per episode, multiple characters per night, and a guest-stars-heavy roster that includes Barack Obama and Jerry Seinfeld.

The June 26 Launch

The trailer opens on a vintage biplane and closes with Seinfeld promising to use his hat as a net. The full preview is on YouTube and HBO’s site.

The series is one of the projects Higher Ground has set up at HBO and other studios outside its long-running Netflix deal. The original order came in 2025, when the company was still inside its Netflix first-look arrangement. The rollout runs weekly through August 7.

Life, Larry, And The Pursuit Of Unhappiness debuts Friday, June 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and HBO Max.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does Life, Larry, And The Pursuit Of Unhappiness premiere?

The series premieres Friday, June 26 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT, per HBO’s trailer release. New episodes then roll out weekly on HBO and HBO Max, with the season finale landing August 7.

How many episodes does the series have?

Seven episodes, each running half an hour, per the HBO press release. The series was originally announced as a six-episode limited series in 2025.

Who is in the cast of Life, Larry?

The cast includes Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Hader, Kathryn Hahn, Jon Hamm, Sean Hayes, Susie Essman, Barack Obama, Jane Krakowski, Isla Fisher, Toby Huss, Joe Manganiello, Jeff Garlin, J.B. Smoove, and Vince Vaughn, with David in the central role. The roles confirmed so far include Lincoln, Mary Todd Lincoln, the Wright brothers, Susan B. Anthony, and the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Is the show connected to Curb Your Enthusiasm?

It is a separate show, not a Curb Your Enthusiasm spinoff. Jeff Schaffer, who was the showrunner and frequent director on Curb, writes and directs the new series, and several Curb alums including Susie Essman, Jeff Garlin, and J.B. Smoove are in the cast.

Where can you stream the series?

Episodes air on HBO and stream on HBO Max on the same schedule, per the network.