You may be thinking – why am I doing a comedy review? I thought this was JW’s Music Musings, not JW’s Comedy Musings? This will all make sense soon and tie into a massive recent music event…

Probably my favourite comedy show is Curb Your Enthusiasm. It is commonly regarded as one of the greatest comedy shows of all time and its irreverent clips have even experienced a mild resurgence on TikTok. I really got into it through watching it with my Dad – it’s his favourite show! The show ran for 12 seasons/series from 2000-2024.

The sitcom features Larry David (co-creator of massive comedy Seinfeld) playing a fictionalized version of himself, following his life as a semi-retired TV writer in LA. As with Seinfeld, the humour of Curb Your Enthusiasm often revolves around the absurdities of everyday social life. Each episode’s plot and subplot is established in an outline written by David, and is then mainly improvised by the cast.

While I do enjoy Seinfeld greatly (I love the way both shows have different subplots that all tie together brilliantly at the end), Curb makes me laugh out loud an insane amount of times, which I can’t always say for comedy. I can see why Seinfeld is so popular – it’s more toned down and suitable for a mainstream audience, while still possessing the very clever and relatable comedy style. It’s like Friends mixed with Curb! “The Marine Biologist” might be my favourite Seinfeld episode.

On the other hand, Curb is absolutely bonkers and no topic is left untouched. Basically every episode is Larry getting into bother somehow and everyone shouting at him! The supporting cast are absolutely brilliant too. I can see why people wouldn’t like the show, as the “cringe comedy” can reach teeth-clenching levels of awkward. I certainly did find the show a bit slow at first (especially the early seasons) but it really is just so silly and endearing for me. Even the later seasons have absolute gems, especially season 10.

*the show had many celebrity cameos over its run, often playing themselves. Here is Bruce Springsteen, when Larry gave him COVID-19 (S12, E9). The wacky music in the show also works brilliantly

The show sadly came to an end in 2024, but it was a great last season with some absolutely side-splitting moments. The finale, featuring Jerry Seinfeld, also brought things to a happy, satisfying conclusion. There are never sad moments in the show, but that is one of the only times Larry has won/had a positive outcome!

In the show, Larry can either be seen as scarily relatable or a complete asshole – I think he may be somewhere in the middle. It is quite alarming when I find myself relating to Larry! Maybe even Oasis fans might like Curb – the Gallaghers are also outspoken and ignore social conventions!

Thus, I present to you a list of some favourite episodes of mine. There are so many gems across this show, so this is just a starter.

In no particular order and with no spoilers:

• The Ski Lift (S5, E8)
• Krazee-Eyez Killa (S3, E8)
• The Car Pool Lane (S4, E6)
• Elizabeth, Margaret and Larry (S10, E1)
• The Table Read (S7, E9)
• The Survivor (S4, E9)
• Larry vs Michael J. Fox (S8, E10)
• The Corpse-Sniffing Dog (S3, E7)
• Officer Krupke (S7, E8)
• The Shrimp Incident (S2, E4)
• The Grand Opening (S3, E10)
• Trick or Treat (S2, E3)
• The Smiley Face (S8, E4)
• The Doll (S2, E7)
• The Surrogate (S4, E7)
• The Hot Towel (S7, E4)
• The Massage (S2, E10)
• Funkhouser’s Crazy Sister (S7, E1)
• Kamikaze Bingo (S5, E4)
• Wandering Bear (S4, E8)

That’s just twenty episodes as most episodes are brilliant and laugh-out loud, in my opinion. Full seasons often have great story arcs but episodes can be watched individually too. It’s also definitely not family friendly!

Once again this will remain a music page and you will see why I’m doing this soon. While we’re at it, what are your favourite comedy shows and any I should look at/review? While music is my main passion, I enjoy comedy quite a bit too. See you next time.