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Of all the ways in which people have decided to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States of America, few are as left-field as a sketch comedy collaboration between Larry David and President Barack Obama. Jeff Schaffer, David’s frequent writing partner and showrunner of Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness, seems as aware of this as anyone. But when the Obamas and their Higher Ground productions company expressed an interest, who was he to turn them down? The fruits of their labor, a seven-episode exploration of American history through David’s curmudgeonly eyes, is already halfway through its HBO run. And, yes, it’s even a little educational. “I enjoy history, but I like ancient history — Greek and Roman stuff,” says Schaffer. “But Larry’s American history knowledge was astounding. He wanted to do something on winning the popular vote but losing the election, and he goes ‘You know, like Samual J. Tilden.’ Who? He could have been a country music star for all I knew.”
During a recent episode of The Hollywood Reporter podcast, I’m Having an Episode (Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple), Schaffer talked about collaborating with a former president and making a production schedule that would accommodate the erratic behavior of the sitting one. (And, for good measure, he discussed one of the more unlikely gems of his long comedy career: “Scotty Doesn’t Know.”)
