We’re just a few short months away (apparently – no air date has been confirmed by HBO) from Curb Your Enthusiasm’s highly anticipated tenth season. It’s assumed that we’ll be seeing the main characters – Larry, Jeff, Susie, Leon, and possibly Cheryl – so this list will focus on ancillary characters whose return in season 10 isn’t automatically expected.
Sadly, due to the untimely passing of Bob Einstein earlier this year, we likely won’t be seeing Marty Funkhouser in the upcoming season, which is a crying shame, but something we have to expect. Here are 10 Curb Your Enthusiasm Characters We Hope To See Return In Season 10.
Richard Lewis
It wouldn’t really feel like Curb if Larry David’s childhood friend and fellow comedian Richard Lewis didn’t make an appearance. Over the years, Larry has given Lewis a kidney, accidentally poisoned his Christian Scientist girlfriend (one of the many women that Lewis has called “the one”), and stood him up for countless lunches due to the lack of a verbal confirmation of the plans.
Last year, Larry was insensitive about the death of Lewis’ parakeet and mocked how young he made himself look in a self-portrait he painted. Whatever season 10 has in store for their relationship (if anything) will surely be comedy gold.
Wanda Sykes
It’s been a few years since we saw the fictionalized version of Wanda Sykes grace the presence of the fictionalized version of Larry David. The last time Wanda made an appearance was in season 8, when she stole Larry’s personal trainer.
Sykes recently released a standup special on Netflix and she’s starring alongside Mike Epps in a new sitcom called The Upshaws, but like the similarly in-demand Lin-Manuel Miranda, who carved out enough time in his busy schedule for a self-deprecating multi-episode arc in Curb’s ninth season, she’ll surely be able to find time for Larry if he needs her.
Ted Danson
After sitting out season 8, Ted Danson and his fictionalized self came back with a vengeance for the ninth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Danson has a laidback West Coast attitude that clashes hilariously with Larry’s neurotic East Coast sensibilities. Whether they’re arguing about a piece of pie or what constitutes “heaven,” Ted and Larry’s bickering conversations have never failed to raise a few belly laughs from Curb fans.
In season 9, Ted started dating Cheryl (who gave him the hysterically insufferable pet name “T”), so it could be interesting to see that dynamic shift grow and evolve throughout season 10.
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld has played himself a couple of times on Curb, first in the audience of Larry’s Broadway debut in The Producers, and then in a longer arc in the season revolving around a Seinfeld reunion special. Whenever the two are in a room together, it’s almost a guarantee that something hilarious will happen.
As shown in Larry’s appearance on the first ever episode of Jerry’s web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, these two still share the same comic energy that gave us nine brilliant seasons (well, seven brilliant seasons – Larry left the show before season 8) of Seinfeld.
Dr. Templeton
Played brilliantly by Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston, Dr. Templeton was Larry’s psychiatrist in season 9, so it stands to reason that they’re still in contact and it wouldn’t be a stretch for Cranston to reprise his role.
Whether he was condemning Larry for violating their unspoken confidentiality deal, which apparently goes both ways with medical professionals, or arguing about whether or not he has a better chair than Larry, Cranston left a lasting impression in the role of Dr. Templeton and he proved to be a worthy match for Larry David in improvised conversations. It would be great to catch up with him in season 10.
Rosie O’Donnell
Whenever Larry David and Rosie O’Donnell get together – or, at least, when their fictional Curb-ified selves get together – it’s always hilarious, because they’re both New Yorkers and they both have brash comedic personas, but they’re still very different people.
The last time we saw Rosie on the show was in the season 8 episode “The Bisexual,” which plays a little uncomfortably, because it’s predicated on the misconception that people who identify as bisexual are undecided on their sexual orientation, which simply isn’t true. Hopefully, an appearance in the upcoming tenth season can leave Rosie’s Curb arc on a more tasteful note.
Cousin Andy
Like Marty Funkhouser, Larry David’s cousin Andy is a character who hardly ever actually says anything particularly funny, yet stands out as one of the show’s funniest characters. This is all thanks to the brilliance of Richard Kind (or Bob Einstein, in the case of “the Big Funk”), because his performance is always based on the context of the scene.
If Larry is in a position where the last thing he wants to do is talk to someone, Kind will be over-the-top nice to him. For an example of Kind playing beautifully with context, look at the scene where he describes Larry’s mother’s funeral to him.
Mary Steenburgen
Fans panicked when Curb’s ninth season announced that Ted Danson and his wife Mary Steenburgen had broken up. They quickly took to the Internet to see if it was true. Thankfully, one of Hollywood’s favorite couples is still together and this was just for a storyline on Curb.
When Ted asked out Cheryl, Larry decided to ask out Mary, who bluntly shut him down. The best supporting characters in Curb are the ones who aren’t afraid to be blunt with Larry, and as one of his real-life friends, Mary Steenburgen is one of them. It would be great to see her again in season 10.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus has played herself on Curb a few times. In season 1, Larry’s neighbors wanted to meet her; in season 2, Larry developed a sitcom pilot with her; and in season 7, she appeared in the Seinfeld reunion show.
As the actor who played Elaine on Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus has a reason to pop in and out of Larry David’s life – and as a long-time friend of David’s, she doesn’t hold back when the cameras are rolling and they’re trading barbs. Louis-Dreyfus’ career has gone from strength to strength in recent years, mostly thanks to the fantastic political satire series Veep, so it would be fun to see her on the show again.
Michael J. Fox
It’s possible that Michael J. Fox reappearing on Curb Your Enthusiasm would undo some of the impact of his hysterical performance in the season 8 finale. However, Fox returned for a cameo in season 9 and, if anything, it enhanced his appearance in season 8, so it’s within the realm of possibility.
Fox has some unresolved beef with Larry David. After mistaking Larry miming a violin to Jeff for an insensitive hand gesture, Fox got Larry kicked out of New York City by the mayor himself. God only knows what would happen if the two ended up in close quarters again.
