Since it’s debut in 2001, Curb Your Enthusiasm continues to entertain and induce social anxiety in audiences into the beginning of the 2020s. In his biggest success since Seinfeld, Larry David portrays a perpetual victim of circumstance who leads himself into the most uncomfortable of social situations — usually due to his inclination to say what most would keep to themselves.
100 episodes have aired over the course of its 10 seasons and they have seldom failed in drawing audiences to watch the former SNL writer. These are the top 10 episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm, according to IMDb.
The Bat Mitzvah – 9.1
In the season 6 finale, Loretta receives notice that she and her family can return home. Larry, meanwhile is in the midst of battling the suspicion of many around him that he has had a nefarious intent toward gerbils. He also contends with Cheryl leaving him when he is invited to give a speech at Sammi’s Bat Mitzvah.
After asking Loretta to go with him, he immediately derails the speech to address the rumor. By the end of the episode, Larry realizes that he has feelings for Loretta and doesn’t want her or her family to leave.
Denise Handicapped – 9.1
While in a coffee shop, Larry unexpectedly meets a wheelchair-bound woman named Denise. The two experience friction, as Larry is greatly inept at compensating for her disability, both socially and intimately. However, as they are drawn together over a shared love of a musician, they are both set to go to a private concert.
Later Suzie throws his phone, which had Denise’s number in it, into the ocean after he failed to notice Sammi in distress. As he tries in vain to find her, he c0mes across and then brings another similarly handicapped woman to the concert. When Denise shows up they both confront him. He attempts to escape via the stairs, but is pursued by Rosie O’Donnell, with whom he had previously fought in the episode.
The Table Read – 9.1
As the Seinfeld reunion show is underway, Larry experiences increasing difficulties on top of his desire to win back Cheryl. Marty’s needless presence on the set increasingly annoys Larry, while no one else cares. Larry then lends Jason a pen, but when he puts it into his mouth and ear, Larry refuses to take it back and demands a replacement.
Michael is convinced that he will die from Groat’s disease and his performance suffers. Larry recruits Leon to tell him otherwise by posing as Groat’s survivor Danny Duberstein. When Michael realizes that the latter is not the actually deceased Duberstein, a past scandal returns to haunt him when he confronts Leon.
Elizabeth, Margaret and Larry – 9.1
In this recent episode, Cheryl’s sister Becky is preparing to sell a house that Larry bought for her. Larry becomes convinced that because the house was a gift, he should benefit from the sale. He decides to go to her and rectify this in his favor, but backs down when she pleads for him to let her sell it.
The two then spontaneously become intimate, which Becky then uses to get back at Cheryl. In the meantime, Leon starts a new business, Richard shares too much of Larry’s personal information, and Jon Hamm shadows and acts like Larry for a film role.
The Ski Lift – 9.2
In his pursuit of a new kidney for Richard, while avoiding sacrificing one of his own, Larry concocts a plan to move his friend to the front of the recipient list by befriending Ben, the Orthodox head of kidney consortium. To this end, Larry pretends to be Orthodox himself and is ultimately invited to go skiing with Ben and his daughter Rachel.
In order to further convince Ben, Larry invites Cheryl and the Greene’s to corroborate his story. After several misunderstandings, Larry is left stuck on a ski lift with Rachel, who begins to panic since it is against her faith to be alone with a man at sundown. When she demands he jump, his facade breaks and he refuses, leading her to jump instead.
Seinfeld – 9.2
As the deadline for the Seinfeld reunion special nears, Larry becomes extremely agitated by Jason and Cheryl’s increasing closeness. This strains his relationship with not only Cheryl but all of the cast members. After making so many changes to the script that it is apparently unrecognizable, Jason quits. Larry makes an attempt to fill in as George before quitting.
That night, Larry watches the show and sees that Cheryl has been replaced. She shows up moments later after it is implied that she heard him state his true intent to Jeff. However, when Cheryl leaves a stain on his table, Larry realizes that she’s the reason he was blamed by Julia for leaving such a stain earlier. Cheryl then leaves as he calls her to clarify this.
Palestinian Chicken – 9.2
Larry’s “talent” for stating what is on his mind is at the forefront of this episode. Larry’s friend Ron asks him to convince his wife Ilene to stop saying “LOL” aloud. This backfires when she immediately lashes out at Ron and she then cheats on him with Eddie. The two are seen by Jeff and Larry at a Palestinian chicken restaurant, as Jewish people cheating on their spouses are claimed to be safe in hiding there.
At the tournament, Sammi, who learned of the affair, forces Larry to ask Suzie to revise how she sips drinks. Like Ilene, Suzie immediately suspects Jeff, but Sammi explains that she was behind it and inadvertently exposes the affair. Eddie, Ron, and their wives then chase down one another and forfeit the tournament.
The Accidental Text on Purpose – 9.2
In the hopes of helping Marty after he failed to adequately support his girlfriend on her lack of a water filter (due to Larry’s criticism), Larry has Marty “accidentally” send her a text in which he supposedly berates Larry. This works instantly and, later, Larry gives Richard advice to avoid appearing committed too early in the relationship.
At dinner, Suzie brings up the fact that Jeff attempted to send an accidental text to her, leading Marty’s girlfriend to ask him if he sent an accidental text, as well. When she presses him on whether he likes her tap water, he goes into a relationship-ending rant about it.
Happy New Year – 9.3
In the premiere of season 10, Larry uses a MAGA hat to ward off people he doesn’t wish to interact with. This works, but it also leads to him being even more ostracized than usual and passerby have been mistaking Jeff for Harvey Weinstein.
His assistant, who views many of his out of context actions as sexual harassment, begins to grow concerned. Meanwhile, Larry is perturbed by the inadequacies of his rival Mocha Joe’s coffee shop. He vows to start his own shop immediately, next door.
The Doll – 9.4
As Larry and Julia Luis Dreyfus search for a network that will green-light their pilot, they find success with ABC. The pair, with Cheryl, attend a dinner party where Larry comes across the ABC executive’s daughter while looking for the bathroom.
Trying to be friendly, he gives her doll a haircut that she claims to appreciate at first, but seconds later panics once she realizes that the hair won’t grow back. With Jeff’s help, Larry narrowly manages to swap the doll’s head with one in Sammi’s collection.
