If you love Seinfeld, there’s a good chance that you love/would love Curb Your Enthusiasm, and vice versa. The reason for this is not exactly a mystery: despite the two shows being considerably different, the unique, genius comedic voice of Larry David is a driving force in both, and it comes through loudly. Mostly this is a matter of expressed perspective on the world and comedic timing, but it’s especially clear when the long-running HBO show actually makes use of jokes that the classic sitcom first used back in the 1990s.
As an obsessive Seinfeld fan, I’m tickled whenever bits from the series make comebacks on Curb Your Enthusiasm, and I’ve put together this feature to highlight every single one of them. They can be found going back all the way to Season 1, and I’ve made note of them all here in (mostly) chronological order.
“Because It Was There,” From “The Contest”
When Cheryl propositions Larry for sex in Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 1’s “The Group,” he explains that he is unavailable for the activity due to the fact that he recently masturbated. When asked why he would do that, Larry’s excuse is “because it was there” – which is the exact same reasoning that George recalls giving to his mother in “The Contest” (one of the best ever Seinfeld episodes) while recounting the experience of getting “caught” to Jerry, Elaine, and Kramer.
Artist Draws Geometric Shapes, From “The Junior Mint”
In the Season 2 Curb episode, “Shaq,” Larry is asked if he can write a letter of recommendation for an artist’s friend of Cheryl’s to the L.A. County Museum, and it’s revealed that he has a very familiar painting style: geometric figures. This is instantly reminiscent of Sherman Howard's Roy in Seinfeld’s “The Junior Mint,” as he too has an artistic aesthetic that is all about shapes (namely triangles).
Blunt Fake Breasts Conversation, From “The Implant”
When Richard Lewis implores Larry to help him convince the daughter of a friend that she shouldn’t get breast implants in Season 4’s “Ben’s Birthday Party,” Larry ends up broaching the subject with her by awkwardly referencing the fact that “Anna Nicole Smith has some pair of knockers on her.” This is seemingly a callback to the Seinfeld episode “The Implant,” which features Jerry trying to determine whether or not Teri Hatcher’s Sidra had plastic surgery by casually saying, “That Jayne Mansfield had some big breasts.”
Nothing To Read On The Plane, From “The Butter Shave”
While flying to New York for the opening of The Producers in "Opening Night," Larry sits next to Jeff and is baffled when he realizes that his friend has brought nothing to kill time on the plane; Jeff is content to just sit and stare in his seat. This is reflective of a similar joke in Seinfeld’s “The Butter Shave,” which sees Elaine become infuriated with Patrick Warburton's David Puddy when he reveals that he behaves the exact same way during air travel.
“We Need To Talk,” From “The Susie”
As recognized by George in the Seinfeld episode “The Susie,” the phrase “We need to talk” is a prelude to the death of a relationship, and Larry David has twice brought that idea back in Curb. The first time is in Season 5’s “The Bowtie,” which has a scene where Larry thinks Cheryl wants to divorce him when she starts a conversation that way (she actually just wants to discuss an upcoming party). The line then returns in Season 9’s “The Accidental Text On Purpose,” which has Richard Lewis predicting the end of a relationship when he gets “We need to talk” in a text from his girlfriend.
“Not That There’s Anything Wrong With It," From “The Outing”
In Season 5’s “The Christ Nail,” Larry finds himself on a mission to purchase a bra for his housekeeper, and when the saleswoman ponders whether or not the garment is actually for him, he denies it – but also throws in a “Not that there’s anything wrong with it.” This is certainly a callback to the famous Seinfeld line from the episode “The Outing,” which sees Jerry and George have minor freak outs when a reporter writes an article suggesting that they are gay.
Contaminated Materials In The Bathroom, From “The Muffin Tops”
In “The Smoking Jacket,” Larry is repeatedly put off when he discovers people using certain objects in the bathroom – throwing out a magazine used by Richard Kind's Cousin Andy, and surreptitiously switching jackets with both Hugh Hefner and Gary Player. This is reminiscent of the drama that George experiences in “The Muffin Tops” when he is forced to purchase an expensive book of impressionist paintings because he took the tome into the bathroom before buying it.
Chit-Chat During Sex, From “The Pilot”
It’s revealed in “The TiVo Guy” that one thing Cheryl finds difficult about her marriage to Larry is the fact that he likes to have normal chit-chat conversations while they are in the midst of having sex. According to Jerry in the Seinfeld episode “The Pilot,” this quirk is also possessed by Elaine – which he explains while answering questions about her to the actress playing Elaine on Jerry (the show within a show that gets produced in Seinfeld Season 4).
Zipped Lips And Head Shaking, From “The Pie”
One of the lasting mysteries that still lingers from Seinfeld is in the episode “The Pie,” which features Jerry becoming perplexed when the girl he is dating won’t eat a slice of apple pie at Monk’s Diner – instead simply shaking her head and staying mute. This silent refusal happens two more times in the episode (when Jerry doesn’t want to eat a pizza made with unwashed hands, and George refuses a poisoned dessert during a job interview), but it’s also brought back at the end of Curb’s “The N Word,” which sees Larry shake his head and purse his lips rather than repeating a racial slur during a hearing.
Switching Sides On The Couch While Making Out, From “The Implant”
While making out with Sherry Stringfield's Mary Jane Porter in the episode “The Hot Towel,” Larry interrupts the proceedings by asking if they can switch sides – confessing that he is more comfortable sitting to her left. This is extremely similar to a bit in Seinfeld’s “The Implant,” which sees George unable to make a move with Megan Mullally's Betsy because he needs to be positioned to her right, and she always sits to his left.
Wearing A Hat Equals Surprise Baldness, From “The Parking Spot”
In the Seinfeld episode “The Parking Spot,” George reveals that he doesn’t like wearing hats out in public because he fears that he’ll meet a woman and she will later be surprised when she discovers that he doesn’t have hair. In Curb Your Enthusiasm’s “Denise Handicap,” we see this situation play out in full, as Larry meets the titular character while wearing a baseball cap in a coffee shop, and she later confesses to him during a date that she was upset to discover later that he is bald.
Wearing Pants That Are Being Returned, From “The Van Buren Boys”
The Season 7 episode of Curb sees Larry get into a strange predicament where he technically steals a pair of pants because the store where he is shopping has a fire drill. He later attempts to return the pants and wears them to the store while doing so – which is extremely similar to a goofy story that Kramer tells in “The Van Buren Boys,” centering on the hipster doofus wearing a pair of pants he wants to return and ruining them by slipping in mud.
George Knows The Location Of The Best Toilets, From “The Busboy” & “The Bizarro Jerry”
This is kind of a weird one, as it’s an example of the Seinfeld reunion on Curb Your Enthusiasm bringing back a deep cut joke from the 1990s sitcom. In the reintroduction of George Costanza, it’s revealed that he made millions of dollars from the design of a smart phone app that directs you to the best bathroom in your current area. This is a callback to a special skill of George’s first introduced in Seinfeld Season 2’s “The Busboy,” which has a scene where Jerry tries to quiz his best friend on the subject. The bit later returns in Season 8’s “The Bizarro Jerry.”
Sipping And Going “Ahh,” From “The Masseuse”
When operating as a “social assassin” in Curb's “Palestinian Chicken,” Larry is blackmailed by Ashly Holloway's Sammi Greene into trying to get her mother, Susie, to stop an annoying habit: taking a sip of a drink and going, “Ahh.” Seinfeld fans will recognize this pet peeve from the episode “The Masseuse.” While working with her boyfriend Joel Rifkin (Anthony Cistaro) to find him a new name, Elaine vetoes “Alex” as a potential choice because she was annoyed by a guy at college who would sip a drink and go, “Ahh.”
Performer Is Upset By Disturbance In Audience, From “The Pez Dispenser”
The Seinfeld episode “The Pez Dispenser” memorably has Jerry cause Elaine to erupt with laughter during a piano recital by putting the eponymous candy machine on her leg, and it ends up causing discord in the relationship between George and his pianist girlfriend, Noel (Elizabeth Morehead). Curb Your Enthusiasm has a similar conflict play out in the Season 8 episode “The Hero,” which sees Larry and Susie disrupt a performance of Ricky Gervais’ play, Mr. Simmington, by constantly bickering, and they end up lying about it so that Jeff can try and land Gervais as a client.
The Car Periscope, From “The Invitations”
Kramer espouses a lot of dumb ideas in Seinfeld, but Curb ends up providing a full-throated endorsement of one of them. In Seinfeld's episode “The Invitations,” Jerry has a vision of the future where he is an old man fighting with Kramer about the viability of installing a periscope in a car so that the driver can see over traffic. Jerry dismisses it as “stupid,” but it’s brought back as an ingenious idea in the Curb's Season 8 episode, “Car Periscope,” which features Larry and Jeff considering an investment in the titular invention.
Sheets Tucked Too Tight, From “The Limo” & “The Trip”
Larry isn’t a fan of being tucked in too tight while in bed, and he’s made that very clear via both Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. The subject comes up twice in the former show (first in Season 3’s “The Limo” and then in Season 4’s two-parter, “The Trip”), and it makes a comeback in Season 9 of the latter when Larry complains about it to a concierge (Jim Rash) in the episode “The Pickle Gambit.”
“Salman” Not “Salmon,” from “The Implant”
Is it “Salman” Rushdie, or is it “Salmon” Rushdie? Kramer is exposed as not knowing the right answer in Seinfeld's “The Implant,” but he is not alone. In Curb Your Enthusiasm’s “A Disturbance In The Kitchen,” a recently fatwa’ed Larry inquires about the proper pronunciation of the name while in a sit down with the famous author.
The Funeral Nod, From “The Face Painter”
Is it appropriate to give an enthusiastic hello at a funeral? That’s a question that has been raised by both Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. In the ‘90s show, Jerry encounters the conundrum in the episode “The Face Painter” when he is trying to determine whether or not Alec Berg (Mark DeCarlo) is mad at him for not delivering a proper thank you after being given some NHL playoff tickets. Larry then brings it back in Curb’s Season 9 episode “Running With The Bulls,” which finds him in a similar unsure bind with his therapist (Bryan Cranston).
That covers every Seinfeld joke in Curb to date – but there may be more to come. While an official release date has not been announced, Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 12 is on the way, having completed production in early 2023.
