5 TV Shows Like Curb Your Enthusiasm to Watch Next

“Seinfeld” remains widely regarded as one of television’s greatest sitcoms. After its massive success, co-creator Larry David essentially had the freedom to pursue whatever project he wanted next. What he chose was something spiritually similar to “Seinfeld,” but with fewer network constraints and more room to push his comic instincts. Moving from NBC to HBO, David brought that sensibility to “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

“Curb” carries forward the same “show about nothing” philosophy that helped define “Seinfeld.” This time, David put himself at the center, playing a fictionalized version of Larry David: a man enjoying the rewards of “Seinfeld” fame while remaining endlessly irritated by everyday inconveniences. He might become furious over excessive public affection or someone abusing a store’s free-sample policy. Naturally, Larry also lives by a set of irrational personal rules that he expects the world to honor, creating the misunderstandings, arguments, and social disasters that power the series.

The strongest episodes of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” start with something incredibly small and turn it into complete chaos. With two landmark comedies to his name, David’s reputation as a comedic genius is more than secure. Still, after making it through all 12 seasons, viewers may be looking for more shows with that same uncomfortable, cringe-driven comic energy — and fortunately, there are plenty of options.

“Seinfeld” is the most obvious recommendation for anyone finishing “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” but if you somehow missed it, it is essential viewing for understanding the modern sitcom. Although it ruled the 1990s, much of “Seinfeld” still feels sharp today because its best jokes remain remarkably durable. Part of its lasting appeal comes from the way it broke from the more sentimental, lesson-based sitcoms that came before it.

Famously described as a show about nothing, “Seinfeld” rarely allowed its characters to learn, mature, or become better people. Across the series, the central group remained stubbornly themselves, which meant they never became more accepting or emotionally evolved. Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), for instance, routinely sabotaged relationships over tiny annoyances. In Season 6’s “The Switch,” he cannot move past the fact that his girlfriend never truly laughs, instead responding to everything with a flat “That’s funny.”

Those kinds of moments form a clear bridge between “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” In both shows, characters fixate on minor breaches of etiquette or insignificant personality quirks until they make themselves look terrible. Some comic complaints were apparently too strong to leave behind. In “Seinfeld” episode “The Dinner Party,” Jerry and Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) object to people saying “Happy New Year” too long after January 1. Larry raises the same grievance in a Season 10 episode of “Curb” called, fittingly, “Happy New Year.” Apparently, there are only so many social customs worth getting angry about.

On the set of “Seinfeld,” Larry David reportedly followed two guiding principles: no learning and no hugging. The idea was simple — the characters should not become wiser, kinder, or more emotionally fulfilled as the series went on. That same philosophy later shaped “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and its influence is easy to spot in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”

In many ways, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” can be seen as a modern descendant of “Seinfeld,” built around characters who are also essentially going nowhere. After two decades, the core group remains spectacularly awful, if not worse than when they began, having stewed in their selfishness, bizarre impulses, and contempt for everyone around them. A typical episode finds the gang attempting a scam, chasing status, or manipulating someone for personal gain — only for the plan to collapse spectacularly. That dynamic echoes “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” where Larry’s rigid beliefs and petty crusades almost always return to punish him.

But both shows also have a similar rhythm. A lot of improvisation took place on “Curb.” “Always Sunny” is largely scripted, but with characters constantly talking over one another and arguing, it has a more off-the-cuff feel compared to other, more traditional sitcoms. You don’t watch either show to see the characters grow. If anything, you watch to see how far they can fall. 

Larry David wasn’t the only one who jumped ship to HBO following “Seinfeld.” Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who played Elaine on “Seinfeld,” got to lead her own exceptional comedy series with “Veep.” She plays Selina Meyer, who shared a lot of DNA with Elaine, as they’re both fairly self-absorbed individuals. But in Selina’s case, she just so happens to be the Vice President of the United States, so she tries to emit a certain persona to the public that’s at odds with how she truly feels about the boring day-to-day operations of being a politician.

Selina Meyer is ruthlessly ambitious, serving as a neat contrast to Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope. Whereas Leslie saw the best in people, Selina is far more pessimistic and narcissistic. She goes against the girlboss archetype and wants power purely for the sake of having power. “Veep” has a deeply cynical outlook on the government, which is perhaps why it’s predicted the future on several occasions, like Selina coming under fire for her emails, which is what would dog Hilary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign. 

“Curb Your Enthusiasm” has very low stakes. With “Veep,” Selina and her eccentric team are steering the fate of the country, adding a whole new angle to the cringe comedy.

Maybe you want a similar cringe comedy vibe to “Curb Your Enthusiasm” without committing to a 30-minute episode. In that case, you need the sketch comedy stylings of “I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson.” Each episode is comprised of a few different sketches, so even if one bit doesn’t work for you, you won’t have to wait long to see another.

But the sketch series homes in on reactions to awkward social situations like “Curb.” For example, one of the funniest “I Think You Should Leave” sketches involves a man (Robinson) getting offended that the birthday boy (Steven Yeun) had a muted response to his gift. So in retaliation, he eats the gift receipt. You also have a man (also Robinson) leaving a job interview and accidentally pulling on a push-only door, only to proceed to pull until the door comes off its hinges and opens. 

Both “I Think You Should Leave” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” tap into the idea that being perceived as cringe is one of the worst things that can happen to a person. You have characters who insist the world should operate by a certain set of rules, no matter how arbitrary they seem. But “Curb” remains firmly grounded in reality. As a sketch show, “I Think You Should Leave” escalates awkward situations to bizarre extremes, sometimes even getting into horror territory.

“I’m Sorry” is basically “Curb Your Enthusiasm” with a female lead (and a central marriage where the two spouses seem to actually like each other). The show follows Andrea Warren (Andrea Savage), a comedy writer navigating the complexities of being a working mom, who has no issues with pointing out the ridiculousness of certain social situations. That includes being handed a live fish as a party favor for a kid’s birthday. 

A lot of the comedy comes from Andrea navigating two very different worlds — hanging out with her comedy friends and other mothers. She often misjudges what is and isn’t appropriate to say around non-comedians, leading to plenty of foot-in-mouth situations. It’s just a shame the sitcom got the short end of the stick for coming out right before COVID-19. “I’m Sorry” ran for two seasons and was actually renewed for a third, but following COVID shutdowns, that third season was cancelled. 

As such, “I’m Sorry” remains an underseen gem. It doesn’t have the same social cache as something like “Seinfeld,” but if your favorite shows involve a lead character constantly saying the wrong thing, “I’m Sorry” will scratch that itch.