Curb Your Enthusiasm Almost Ended Season 11 With This Character's Death

Larry David almost ended "Curb Your Enthusiasm" with season 11, and he would've done it with the death of a main character. But David ultimately decided against that. After all, the show has been David's primary project since "Seinfeld," and he returns to the show every few years, even after it seems like he's done all he can with it. "Curb Your Enthusiasm" is perhaps the only HBO series that will only end when its star and creator says it will end.

Season 11 of "Curb" begins with a simple set-up: someone tries to rob Larry's house, but they fall into the pool and drown. This gets Larry in trouble with local legislation, since he is legally required to have a fence around the pool. This created an obvious ending to the season for David and executive producer Jeff Schaffer. "When we started with Larry finding the dead guy in the pool, right away I knew that we were going to end it with Larry falling into a pool because there was no fence," Schaffer explained to THR.

After being on air for 11 seasons, David and Schaffer thought it might be time to end the series. Schaffer "wanted to prepare as if it was the last [season]," so the two wrote an ending that would tie off the entire show. Larry falling into the pool "lent itself too perfectly" to a death scene, so that's exactly what they shot. In this version, Larry hits his head and the envelope he is holding floats up to the top. When shooting this final shot of the envelope, "we said, 'OK, if this is how we go, this is how we go!'" Schaffer said.

"Curb" had reached a perfect conclusion, but its creator was not ready to let it go. "[David] said, 'I'm not ready to die,'" Schaffer revealed. The season went on to receive several Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series, so there was no problem convincing HBO to extend it for another season. David and Schaffer had more ideas in store for Larry and his friends, including another arc about the show-within-the-show, "Young Larry."

Despite having a very successful season, the creative duo aren't worried about living up to their accolades in season 12. Taking a two year gap between each season gives the audience time to "forget" how good the writing was last season, Schaffer has rationalized. By the time "Curb" finally returns, the audience will "just be so happy to have us back" that the show doesn't need to meet its own standard. "The pressure is off," the producer explained.

Killing off the main character is a controversial way to end a series. In the age of social media, such an abrupt and brutal ending — even to an irreverent comedy like "Curb" — could have caused an uproar. Schaffer and David followed their hearts when they decided to extend the show for another season, but they also did the fans a huge favor. Not only do we get another season, we are saved from a hasty, if appropriate, conclusion to a beloved series.