Curb Your Enthusiasm

Larry David can turn a minor social inconvenience into a dispute that ruins several people's afternoon. Curb Your Enthusiasm gives his fictionalised self enough money and freedom that he rarely has to back down, which is excellent news for the comedy and terrible news for his friends.

The best episodes begin with something recognisable: an invitation, an unspoken rule, a favour that apparently costs nothing. Larry notices an inconsistency and insists on discussing it long after everyone else would have moved on. Sometimes he has a point. That does not make his next decision any wiser.

The loose, argumentative performances work against plots that bring small details back at exactly the wrong moment. The pleasure is in seeing how an avoidable embarrassment becomes unavoidable, not in finding a likeable hero.

If you enjoy Peep Show or The Office UK, the sustained social discomfort is familiar territory. Curb gives it a wealthier, sunnier setting without making the experience any less excruciating.