Larry David definitely knows a lot of funny people, a fact confirmed by the enormous cast of guest stars who have come together for Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness, David’s irreverent celebration of American history executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama. The HBO comedy series has already announced 27 actors who will be portraying various historical figures during the show’s seven-episode run, and that’s just a fraction of the surprises in store.
The limited series, co-written and directed by David’s longtime collaborator Jeff Schaffer, consists of sketches that cover key moments from the past of this great country, including highlights of the American Revolution, important events in civil rights history, and innovations in technology. Some of the messaging is very familiar to Curb Your Enthusiasm fans who spent 12 seasons watching “Larry” complain about minor social injustices; other sequences don’t hold back at all with their politics.
The guide below is drawn directly from the closing credits of each episode, and will be updated each week as new episodes premiere. It should be relatively unnecessary to specify which characters are being played by David. (He’s the bald guy who’s probably yelling.)
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One last note, before we begin: Don’t drink every time someone who was on Curb Your Enthusiasm shows up. Your liver will thank you.
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness, Episode 1, “Livingston.”]
Episode 1: “Livingston”
Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness (HBO)
- President Barack Obama – Himself
- Samuel L. Jackson – Narrator
- Henry Winkler – John Hancock
- Chris Parnell – Benjamin Franklin
- Alan Tudyk – Thomas Jefferson
- Mabel – Mo Gaffney
- Alison Becker – Spectator 1
- Mary Sohn – Spectator 2
- Rodney J. Hobbs – Spectator 3
- Richard Kind – Thomas Watson
- Jake Reiner – Private Wallace
- Mike Castle – Private Smith
- Michael Chiklis – Sergeant
- Jurnee Smollett – Rosa Parks
The series begins with our former President singing the praises of our great country, while also managing to throw some arguably deserved shade at Larry David. Then, we get our first taste of Samuel L. Jackson’s dry but hilarious work as the series’ narrator — his contributions essential to setting up each individual moment of history featured in this series.
The first sketch features David as Robert Livingston, who’s trying to include some additional complaints to the grievances section of the Declaration of Independence. Alas, his ideas get soundly rejected by his fellow revolutionaries, played by the always wonderful Henry Winkler, Chris Parnell, and Alan Tudyk.
The series then moves onto the invention of the telephone, with David as Alexander Graham Bell and veteran comedy actress Mo Gaffney as his supportive wife Mabel. Richard Kind is the other big guest star, playing the famous receiver of the very first phone call — because by law, all comedy shows are required to feature Kind in some capacity.
Additionally, there are three spectators in the crowd who may look familiar: Alison Becker been a recurring guest star on many shows (including Curb) but is most famous to me as lovelorn Shawna Malwae-Tweep from Parks and Recreation. Mary Sohn was a key member of A.P. Bio‘s very funny ensemble and appeared in Freakier Friday and the Showtime series Work in Progress. And Rodney J. Hobbs’ credits include The Office, Modern Family, First Man, and the Nickelodeon comedy Young Dylan.
The World War I sketch features Michael Chiklis as the gruff Sergeant who orders Larry into battle, a perfect use for the star of The Shield and multiple Fantastic Four movies. (He was once, also, The Commish!) Playing Larry’s fellow soldiers are Mike Castle, a Comedy Bang Bang and Curb alum, and Jake Reiner, whose past credits include playing reporters on American Crime Story, For All Mankind, and Ice Cube’s War of the Worlds. Reiner additionally appeared on Curb, and happens to be the son of Rob Reiner and Michelle Singer Reiner.
In the final sketch, the always fantastic Jurnee Smollett plays Rosa Parks, and not only is the Friday Night Lights and Birds of Prey star more than a match for the antics of “Murray,” but she does bear a strong resemblance to the civil rights hero. No spoilers for what’s to come — but she won’t be this show’s last bit of brilliant casting.
New episodes of Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness debut Fridays at 9:00 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.