The return of Maria Sofia Estrada in Curb Your Enthusiasm season 12 has broken a 15-year streak that the show hasn’t broken since Leon’s family reappeared in season 7. In its first season, Curb Your Enthusiasm followed a standard sitcom formula with standalone storylines in each episode. But from season 2 onwards, each season of Curb Your Enthusiasm has had its own serialized narrative that kicks off in the season premiere, gets threaded throughout the season, and concludes in the season finale.
In season 2, Larry tried to launch a new sitcom with Julia Louis-Dreyfus. In season 5, he hired a private eye to figure out if he was adopted. In season 9, he received a death sentence from the Ayatollah. In season 10, he opened up a “spite store” next door to Mocha Joe’s coffee shop. Usually, these storylines are confined to one season and never even get mentioned again in subsequent seasons. But Curb Your Enthusiasm season 12 has broken that rule – and it was broken once before.
Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 12 Episode 1 Recap: Larry’s Atlanta Twist & 9 Other Best Moments
Curb Your Enthusiasm’s season 12 premiere has gotten the final season off to a great start with some hilarious gags and a surprise twist ending.
Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 12 Is The Second Time The Show Has Continued The Previous Season’s Storylines
By bringing back Larry’s new Hulu show Young Larry and his relationship with Irma Kostroski, Curb Your Enthusiasm season 12 has directly continued the plot threads from season 11. Larry is still dating Irma, Young Larry has been renewed for season 2, and Maria Sofia continues to ruin the show (and has become America’s sweetheart in the process). This makes season 12 the second season of Curb Your Enthusiasm after season 7 to continue the previous season’s storylines.
Season 7 continued season 6’s storyline of Leon’s displaced family living with Larry, as well as the subplot of Larry dating Leon’s sister Loretta. Other seasons’ storylines, like Larry investing in a restaurant in season 3 or starring in The Producers in season 4, have been dropped in the following season and never mentioned again, despite the implied success of those endeavors. In that regard, season 12 feels more like a counterpart to its predecessor than most other seasons of Curb.
Why Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 12 Continues Season 11’s Storylines
There are a couple of reasons why Larry David decided to continue Curb Your Enthusiasm season 11’s storylines into season 12. The most obvious reason is that characters like Irma and Maria Sofia were too good not to bring back. Tracey Ullman and Keyla Monterroso Mejia are perfect for those roles, and they’re both a hilarious foil for Larry. Plus, it helps to give the final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm more of a sense of finality if it acknowledges the developments of the previous season and continues to build on them.
