Larry David and Jeff Schaffer at Featured Session: “A Waste of Time with Larry David and Jeff Schaffer” during the SXSW Conference & Festivals held at JW Marriott on March 13, 2026 in Austin, Texas. Credit: Mike Jordan 

By Allison Teegardin 

Time was not wasted on March 13 at SXSW as Larry David, creator of the television show “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and co-creator of “Seinfeld,” took the stage with writer and director Jeff Schaffer. The featured session titled “A Waste of Time with Larry David and Jeff Schaffer” was moderated by Lorraine Ali of The Los Angeles Times.

This was not a panel discussion about nothing, rather David and Schaffer shared insight into their creative processes and gave a sneak peek of the upcoming show, “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: An Almost History of America” set to air on HBO on June 26. 

Talking about the seven-episode historical sketch comedy series, David, who was a history major in college, cautions that while based on some facts, this is not a show to watch for educational purposes. “We’ve taken a lot of license with history,” David said. “We tried to stick to dates and things like that, but obviously just my presence,” “You’re the ‘almost’ part of the ‘almost history,’” Schaffer interrupts, as David smiles with an agreeing shrug. 

The session included audience questions, including, “What is the appropriate amount of distance to hold an elevator?” and “What are the first 10 words of the Gettysburg Address?”