HBO dropped the first teaser for Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness this week, and it wasted no time.
The clip focuses less on the show’s historical sketches. It focuses more on the chemistry between Larry David and Barack Obama. David attempts to make the former president his emergency contact. This occurs in a deadpan back-and-forth.
Obama opens by addressing the camera directly. “I have sat across the table from some of the world’s most difficult leaders and wrestled with some of the globe’s most intractable problems,” he says. “Nothing has prepared me for working with Larry David. I’m just a producer on this show, so I don’t have to deal with him day-to-day, but, still, it’s a lot.”
Then David walks in.
David greets Obama as 44 before asking if he can be listed as his emergency contact. His reasoning? Doctors and first responders would probably be “more inclined to help” if they saw Obama‘s name attached to his file. Obama fires back that David once called 911 over having something in his eye. An exasperated Obama asks, “Don’t you know other people who like you?” When David admits no, Obama turns him down flat. “You see what I’m dealing with here? Impossible,” he tells the camera. Dejected, David wonders if Michelle Obama will be more receptive.
The series marks David’s first major television project since Curb Your Enthusiasm ended in 2024 after 12 seasons. At the time the project was announced in July 2025, David released a statement explaining his return to television. “Once Curb ended, I celebrated with a three-day foam party. After a violent allergic reaction to the suds, I yearned to return to my simple life as a beekeeper, harvesting organic honey from the wildflowers in my meadow. Alas, one day my bees mysteriously vanished,” David said, adding that he returns “with a heavy heart.”
At its core, Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness is a sketch comedy show built around America’s 250th birthday, which goes disastrously wrong once Larry David gets involved. Each episode will feature four sketches built around fictionalized and satirical moments from American history. Obama isn’t just a guest star. He serves as an executive producer on the series alongside David, Jeff Schaffer, Michelle Obama, Ethan Lewis, and Vinnie Malhotra under the Higher Ground banner.
The cast includes J.B. Smoove, Jon Hamm, Jake Reiner, Susie Essman, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jerry Seinfeld, and Jeff Garlin. Kathryn Hahn playing Mary Todd Lincoln, Bill Hader as Abraham Lincoln, and Sean Hayes set to portray one of the Wright brothers.
Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness premieres June 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and HBO Max, running for seven episodes through August 7.
