Curb Your Enthusiasm has cemented its reputation as one of the most cringe-inducing shows ever made. It also happens to be one of the funniest shows of all time. Starring Larry David as a fictional version of himself, the series explores the mundane situations Larry gets into which inevitably grow into deeply uncomfortable mayhem.
The loose, heavily-improvised feel of the show makes it feel like a very unique television experience. However, if you're craving the hard-to-watch style of comedy and hilariously insensitive characters, there are plenty of shows that can fill that void. Here are some of the series you should watch if you love Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Seinfeld
This is a fairly obvious pick but for good reason. Seinfeld was the show that made a name for Larry David and became one of the most beloved and influential sitcoms of all-time. And with the style of situational comedy used in the show, it feels like this was David's first crack at the style that made Curb Your Enthusiasm such a success.
The show followed Jerry Seinfeld as a fictional version of himself as he and his friends go about life in New York City. As the series went one, the character became worse and worse people which made it all the funnier.
Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee
Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David just love the comedy that comes from mundane conversations. It's no surprise then that Seinfeld found a way to make a show all about that. The new twist on the talk show finds Seinfeld driving around and getting coffee with a new funny person each episode.
While the premise might not sound all that enticing, the conversations that these famous people have are often entertaining, hilarious and sometimes enlightening. As Larry David said when he appeared on the show, Seinfeld has finally made the show about nothing.
Silicon Valley
The awkwardness of the situations in Curb Your Enthusiasm is what makes the show so funny. Larry is so terrible at interacting with people that he seems to make an enemy of every new person he meets. A lot of the same comedy is used to great effect in Silicon Valley.
The comedy from Mike Judge follows the misadventures of a tech start-up company. Many of the funniest moments come from the company's founder, Richard and how his social awkwardness often threatens to derail the entire organization.
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
While Larry in Curb Your Enthusiasm is a pretty self-centered and awful human being, the entire cast of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is just as bad if not worse. The hilariously dark and boundary-pushing show centers on a group of friends who run a seedy bar in Philadelphia and do continuously terrible things.
It's Always Sunny is one of those shows that relishes in how terrible its characters are. Not only that, but they ruin the lives of pretty much anyone they encounter. The creators have named Curb Your Enthusiasm as an inspiration for the dark humor and its easy to see.
Eastbound And Down
While some of the leading characters on this list can be called bad people, there is likely none as bad as Kenny Powers from Eastbound and Down. Played with pompous villainy by Danny McBride, Kenny Powers is a washed-up baseball player who is willing to do anything and hurt anyone in his quest to regain his fame and fortune.
Kenny is one of the more interesting television characters of all time as he thinks so highly of himself even as his life gets more and more pathetic. The kind of things Kenny gets involved in and the terrible things he does to people grows more and more shocking, but it never stops being outrageously hilarious.
Life And Times Of Tim
Life and Times of Tim is probably the least-known show on this list but well worth seeking out. The crudely drawn animation show follows Tim, a hapless slacker who can't help but get involved with embarrassing and degrading situations at every turn.
The show is a great mix of very dry, improvisational humor and outrageous comedy. The way Tim stumbles into these situations and only makes them worse is very reminiscent of Larry's behavior on Curb Your Enthusiasm. It can similarly make you laugh while you're cringing from embarrassment.
Veep
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Larry David go way back to when they were both working for Saturday Night Live. After collaborating on Seinfeld, they each went off the make their own highly acclaimed and bitingly hilarious HBO series, which feel very much in the same vein.
Veep starred Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer who, along with her unusual staff, attempt to manage the political life as Vice President of the United States as well as aspirations beyond that position. It is a vulgar depiction of politics filled with mean-spirited people, and it is hilarious.
The Office (UK)
The American version of The Office found a lot of humor in Michael Scott's cringe-worthy behavior, but it didn't hold a candle to the original British version in that regard. Ricky Gervais' David Brent is one of the most uncomfortable yet hilarious characters in television history.
Like Larry in Curb Your Enthusiasm, David seems totally oblivious to how much of a jerk he is. He is constantly alienating people with his antics and making the entire workplace despise him. It's a rare television show that makes its main character so hateable.
Arrested Development
We've seen plenty of dysfunctional families on television before, but few as messed up as the Bluth family. Arrested Development focuses on the once rich and powerful Bluths who struggle to stay together amidst the ruin of their family business.
Arrested Development is like watching an entire family of Larry Davids. They are all self-centered and oblivious people who do more harm than good. They are the types of people who do terrible, illegal things all the time and then wonder why bad things happen to them.
The Larry Sanders Show
One of the best aspects of Curb Your Enthusiasm is the parade of celebrity guest stars who come on the show to play hilarious and exaggerated versions of themselves. This was a gimmick that was used to great effect years earlier in The Larry Sanders Show.
Starring comedian Garry Shandling, the show centered on a popular late-night talk show that welcomed plenty of famous faces who would poke fun at their image and get involved with the behind-the-scenes subplots. It was a groundbreaking show that cleverly and hilariously deglamorized show business.