ike many of the bitter, pop-culture obsessed people of my generation, I died a little inside when Seinfeld was canceled. Along with The Simpsons, that show did more to shape the minds and imagination of a generation of youngsters than the more traditional institutions of school, church, and family. Saying goodbye to Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer was like losing a loved one. It was a painful experience and one that has scarred me for life.

But little did I know that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I had always assumed that the genius of Seinfeld could be attributed to the cast. I could tell that the writing was strong, but Jerry seemed to be involved with that and don't actors make up most of their lines anyways (give me a break, I was 11 when I started watching). But it turned out that the true genius behind Seinfeld wasn't a performer at all. It was co-creator and writer Larry David, whose bitter and skewed perspective on the world not only formed the foundation of George, but was also the comedic backbone of the entire series.

David was more responsible for the success of Seinfeld than anyone was aware at the time and he was far from done creating TV shows. Thanks to David's unique brain, a comedic phoenix would rise out of the ashes of Seinfeld and save us all (ok, that's a little dramatic, but damn it I love this show). Little over a year after Seinfeld left the air, Larry David wrote and starred in a HBO comedy special entitled Curb Your Enthusiasm. The special positioned itself as a documentary chronicling David's failed return to standup, but in reality it was an improvised sitcom with Larry playing an exaggerated version of himself. The special won rave reviews and HBO commissioned David to turn it into a series.