10 Seinfeld Reappearances On Curb Your Enthusiasm

Season four of Seinfeld is arguably the show’s finest hour when it comes to meta-fiction. The main story arch shows how Jerry is approached by NBC executives to write a sitcom pilot for the network. His friend George, whose character is loosely based on Seinfeld and Curb co-creator Larry David, worms himself into a spot as cowriter for the pilot and sells Jerry on the “show about nothing” idea.

Jerry, George and the NBC staff then go through the process of casting actors to play characters based on the three main Seinfeld cast members on the show-within-a-show called Jerry. Seinfeld would again play himself. Get it? Also in this season, George begins a relationship with NBC employee Susan, similar to Larry and Bridget’s relationship on Curb.

In that show’s seventh season, Larry agrees to NBC’s offer to create a Seinfeld reunion show after learning that his now ex-wife Cheryl had respected him more while he was working. The season brilliantly appeals to Seinfeld fans and critics who were left disappointed by the iconic show’s underwhelming finale by reuniting its main stars Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander and Michael Richards onscreen.

For the fictional reunion show, Larry writes his separation from Cheryl into George’s story and inadvertently drives his ex-wife into the arms of Alexander. An enraged Larry confronts Alexander and it leads to the actor’s exit from the show, with Larry now making an attempt to take his place and play a character based on himself.

He fails miserably to play a character based on himself in a show within a show in which he succeeds very well at playing a fictionalised version of himself.

Very confusing, but prett-ay, prett-ay, prett-ay good.