What Larry David Learned From The Reaction To Seinfeld's Finale

Two-and-a-half decades have passed since the iconic sitcom "Seinfeld" aired its series finale. And it seems that even a quarter of a century after the fact, people still have pretty intense feelings about the episode. So much so that "Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David has continued to regularly field questions about the infamous finale despite having gone on to create and star in HBO's equally beloved series "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

To his credit, David has always been candid about his regard for how "Seinfeld" ended, despite knowing many fans were disappointed. During a 2014 interview with Grantland, he even said of the episode, "I thought it was clever." As for the backlash, David went on to admit it fundamentally altered the way he will approach the end of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." "Well, you know, I got so much grief from the 'Seinfeld' finale, which a lot of people intensely disliked, that I no longer feel a need to wrap things up, he said." David would go on to add, "I wouldn't say I'm mad about it, but it taught me a lesson that if I ever did another show, I wasn't going to wrap it up."

Later in the same interview, Larry David went into further detail to explain exactly what he means about not wrapping "Curb Your Enthusiasm" up in a relatively tidy little bow like he did on "Seinfeld." And what David learned from not only the "Seinfeld" finale backlash but similar responses to several other shows thereafter is that it's arguably best not to tell viewers exactly when a show will end. 

"I think the thing about finales is everybody writes their own finale in their head," David told Grantland, further noting, "whereas if they just tune in during the week to a normal show, they're surprised by what's going on. They haven't written it beforehand, they don't know what the show is." Specifically, David goes on to posit that when fans know exactly when a series is going to end, they tend to walk in with fierce opinions as to how it should. "But for a finale, they go, 'Oh, well this should happen to George, and Jerry and Elaine should get together,' and all that," David says. In continuing the thought, he adds, "They've already written it, and often they're disappointed, because it's not what they wrote."

It's tough to say if David's opinion on finales has changed since the 2014 interview. But if the past decade of fan reactions has taught us anything, it's that opinions on finales have only gotten more intense. And that means fans should likely approach any "Curb Your Enthusiasm" season finale as a potential series ender.