Larry David probably already had curbed his enthusiasm about a final season Emmy breakthrough for his long-running HBO series but tonight made it official — David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm ended its run as the show with the most Outstanding Comedy Series nominations, 11, without a win. Curb was up for four Emmys this year, including Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series for David, missing out on all to wrap its 12-season run with a total of 55 Emmy nominations and two wins, for Outstanding Single-camera Picture Editing For A Comedy Series in 2012 and for Directing in 2003. Likely expecing the outcome, David, who made the Emmy party circuit earlier this weekend, was a no show at tonight’s ceremony.
Over the past 24 years, Curb Your Enthusiasm has been a consistent Emmy performer. Its 11 Outstanding Comedy Series nominations are a record high, shared with such classics as Cheers and M*A*S*H* . It has been the second phase of Emmy voting where Curb repeatedly came up short.
For comparison, Cheers won the top comedy series award four times, M*A*S*H* took it home once. Curb has held the record for most Comedy Series Emmy nominations without a win for years. Fittingly, the previous record holder it eclipsed is HBO’s The Larry Sanders Show , the first cable entrant into the top comedy series category after non-broadcast fare was allowed into the Emmy races in 1988.
The Larry Sanders Show , which has influenced a number of comedies, including Cu.