Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Ninth Season

After a six-year hiatus, Larry David returned in his signature HBO series, once again playing the cantankerous version of himself that delighted viewers from 2000-11. This season’s connecting narrative thread revolves around Larry’s plan to mount a Broadway musical comedy called Fatwa! about the death sentence issued against author Salman Rushdie by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989. But after appearing on Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show to promote the project, Larry is named a target himself by the country’s current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, and after donning a ridiculous disguise, he searches for a way to get the edict lifted. Rushdie appears in a cameo, as do Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and F. Murray Abraham, who agree to play Rushdie and the Ayatollah in the show. Naturally, there are also a number of smaller crises invariably caused by the self-absorbed Larry’s penchant for spontaneously speaking his mind in ways that antagonize other people—and then making things worse by trying to defuse the situation. With Jeff Garlin returning as Larry’s goofy agent, as well as Cheryl Hines as his (now ex-) wife, J.B. Smoove as his (new) assistant, Bob Einstein as his friend Marty, and Susie Essman as Garlin’s wife, this is essentially a reboot, one that features plenty of familiar guest stars, including Ted Danson, Richard Lewis, Mary Steenburgen, and Michael J. Fox. Although the humor seems somewhat broader than usual, Curb remains a very funny show. Compiling all 10 episodes from the 2017 ninth season, this is recommended. (F. Swietek)