Everyone’s favorite humanity-hating curmudgeon, Larry David, closed out his long-running sitcom with a finale that many considered pretty, pretty, pretty good.
Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Season 12 finale (which also serves as the series finale) threw the book at Larry as he risked a prison sentence for violating Georgia state law.
Like in Seinfeld’s infamous 1998 finale, David’s trial saw a cavalcade of guest stars take the stand to paint a grim picture of his continuously misanthropic ways. But things may not have played out the same for Larry as they did for the Seinfeld gang in the appropriately named episode, “No Lessons Learned.”
All Main Cast Members & Guest Stars in Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 12 Finale
Several popular actors showed up in Curb’s final hour, all testifying at Larry’s trial as character witnesses. As expected, this doesn’t exactly proceed in Larry’s favor.
One by one, these guest stars rattled off an exhaustive list of social faux pas, spiteful behavior, outbursts, and bad judgment calls from L.D. over the years.
The verdict? Larry would have to spend a year locked up in prison. But it was Jerry Seinfeld who showed up to save Larry’s bacon when he pointed out that one of the jurors broke their sequester, resulting in a mistrial and Larry walking away scot-free.
All the characters and the actors who played them in Curb Your Enthusiasm’s last episode can be seen below:
Larry David - Larry David
There’s no one quite like Larry David. The awkward, difficult, and absurdly neurotic former Seinfeld producer has been played by Larry in a slightly exaggerated fashion since Curb Your Enthusiasm first premiered in 2000.
In the show’s final outing, a murderer’s row of individuals whom Larry had wronged came out of the woodwork in an attempt to put him in jail.
Besides Curb and his writing/producing work on the iconic '90s sitcom Seinfeld, Larry David got his start in stand-up comedy. He also developed and starred in the 2015 Broadway show, Fish in the Dark.
Cheryl Hines - Cheryl David
Cheryl Hines stars in Episode 10 as Cheryl David. Cheryl began the series as Larry’s long-suffering wife. She eventually decided she had put up with her husband long enough and divorced him. After that, she started dating Larry’s close friend, Ted Danson, much to Larry’s chagrin.
The series finale saw Cheryl, along with the rest of the cast, travel to Atlanta, Georgia for Larry’s trial.
Hines has been nominated for two Emmys for her Curb role. She’s also cropped up in other shows, like Suburgatory and Everybody Loves Raymond.
J.B. Smoove - Leon Black
J.B. Smoove plays the largely clueless Leon, who debuted in the series during Season 6 when he befriended Larry and quickly became his sidekick. Leon is often quick to offer advice, especially on romance, that doesn’t always hold water.
In “No Lessons Learned,” Leon accompanies Larry to Georgia and tells Larry that he needs to appear more sympathetic to the jury, which leads to disastrous consequences.
Smoove got his start on Def Comedy Jam in the '90s and has even appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Mr. Dell, one of Peter Parker’s teachers.
Jeff Garlin - Jeff Greene
Jeff Garlin portrays the mean-spirited Jeff Greene. Frequently painted as just as much of a jerk as his pal Larry, Jeff is also repeatedly unfaithful in his marriage to his wife, Susie. Garlin has been a series regular on Curb Your Enthusiasm since the start.
In the comedy’s final episode, Jeff is part of the group that goes with Larry to attend his trial.
Jeff Garlin previously played Murray Goldberg on ABC’s The Goldbergs and recurred as Mort Meyers on Arrested Development.
Susie Essman - Susie Greene
Susie Essman’s Susie Greene, Jeff’s wife, has quite the short fuse which often results in obscenity-filled rants frequently directed at Larry.
The finale saw Susie pretending to be Larry’s physically disabled girlfriend to garner some courtroom sympathy for David. This goes about as well as one would expect.
In addition to her stand-up work, Essman has acted in Broad City and Bob’s Burgers, among other projects.
Ted Danson - Ted Danson
Ted Danson plays himself on Curb Your Enthusiasm, a friend of Larry’s who eventually dates Cheryl. Danson originally appeared on the series in the Season 1 episode “Ted and Mary” and has recurred since.
Best known as ladies’ man bartender Sam Malone on Cheers, Ted Danson has experienced recent success with NBC’s The Good Place.
Richard Lewis - Richard Lewis
The late Richard Lewis, who passed away in February, appears posthumously as himself. Richard is one of Larry’s oldest friends, despite their frequent disagreements.
“No Lessons Learned” saw one last conflict between Larry and Richard when the latter’s latest girlfriend flips the former off while driving.
Richard Lewis found success through stand-up comedy, as well as the early '90s sitcom Anything but Love where he starred opposite Jamie Lee Curtis.
Allison Janney - Cynthia
Alison Janney guest stars as Richard’s new girlfriend, Cynthia, who exchanges middle fingers with Larry on the road but later denies this ever occurring.
Janney has appeared in hits like The West Wing and Mom and won an Oscar for her role in I, Tonya.
Greg Kinnear - District Attorney
Greg Kinnear plays an Atlanta district attorney who arranges for several figures from Larry’s past to recount how he has personally wronged them.
Kinnear has had a varied film and television career, starring in films like Little Miss Sunshine and series like Rake.
Saverio Guerra - Mocha Joe
Saverio Guerra, in addition to playing Larry’s suspiciously familiar attorney in Curb Season 12, also portrayed one of David’s many nemeses: Mocha Joe.
Mocha Joe owned a coffee shop, but after getting on Larry’s bad side, David opened a competing store purely out of spite. In the last episode, Mocha Joe returns to tell the court all about Larry’s misdeeds.
Guerra has also appeared in Becker and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Dana Lee - Mr. Takahashi
Another of Curb Your Enthusiasm’s antagonists, Mr. Takahashi (Dana Lee) is the no-nonsense administrator of the country club that Larry frequents. He shows up in the finale to testify against Larry.
Dana Lee has been active since the '70s in various projects such as Rambo: First Blood Part II and Dr. Ken.
Bruce Springsteen - Himself
The Boss himself! Legendary musician Bruce Springsteen appears in “No Lessons Learned” to tell the court how Larry derailed his tour by transmitting COVID to him.
Springsteen has long been known in rock and roll for his signature working-class vibes and songs like “Dancing in the Dark” and “Born in the U.S.A.”
Iris Bahr - Rachel Heinemann
Iris Bahr first appeared as Rachel Heinemann in 2005 as a woman trapped on a ski lift with Larry. She appears as another character witness at the trial.
In addition to Curb, Iris Bahr also acts on HBO’s Hacks and has guest starred on shows like The King of Queens and The Drew Carey Show.
Tracey Ullman - Irma Kostroski
Tracey Ullman plays Irma Kostroski. Larry weaseled his way into Irma’s life in Season 11 for reasons related to his gain. She crops up in the finale to speak out against David.
Ullman has long worked as a comedian and her 1980s variety program, The Tracey Ullman Show, was responsible for introducing The Simpsons into popular culture.
Bailey Thompson - Tara Michaelson
Bailey Thompson originally appeared in Season 2 as a young girl, Tara, whose doll was ruined by Larry. She makes an unexpected return in the final installment as yet another witness.
Jerry Seinfeld - Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld shows up as himself to save the day and rescue Larry from his potential prison sentence when he realizes that he saw one of the jurors outside violating his sequester. Because of this, Larry’s case is thrown out.
Arguably the most well-known modern-day comedian, Jerry Seinfeld rose to incredible heights thanks to his über popular sitcom Seinfeld, which ran from 1989 to 1998.
Sharlto Copley - Michael Fouchay
Sharlto Copley’s Michael Fouchay is a businessman who hired Larry to appear at his birthday party, which has a predictable outcome.
Copley’s breakout role was in 2009’s District 9. He’s also acted in Chappie and The A-Team.
Dean Norris - Judge
The judge who presides over Larry’s trial and ultimately sentences him is played by Dean Norris, whose most famous role is that DEA agent and thorn in Walter White’s side, Hank Schrader, on Breaking Bad.
Alexander Vindman - Himself
Real-life retired United States Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, a witness in Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, appears in Curb Your Enthusiasm’s finale as a witness in Larry David's trial.
All 12 seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm are streaming now on Max.
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