Kaley Cuoco did not need a full pitch to say yes to Larry David’s new HBO show.
The actress appears in the second episode of Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness, David’s new sketch-comedy series that drops his familiar complaints into moments from American history. PEOPLE reported that Cuoco accepted the role before she even knew what the project was really about.
Cuoco had already worked with David on Curb Your Enthusiasm, where she guest-starred in 2021 as the girlfriend of Vince Vaughn’s Freddy Funkhouser. She told PEOPLE that appearance had been a “bucket-list” moment, so when another David project came her way, she did not wait for every detail.
“It was such a secretive thing. I just said yes before the producers could tell me what it was,” Cuoco said. “I was like, ‘Anything for Larry.’”
Cuoco Said She Knew “Absolutely Nothing” Before Arriving on Set
Cuoco said she did not know the show’s premise, the time period or even that she would be stepping into a historical sketch. She only knew David was involved.
“I had no idea what the premise was. I didn’t even know it was in another time,” she told PEOPLE. “But Larry and I have an amazing rapport. He’s really sweet to me and we find each other very funny.”
When she arrived on set, the scale of the production surprised her. Cuoco said it looked like a “big film set,” complete with period costumes, before she was told she would be part of a Great Depression sketch.
“They’re like, ‘Okay, you’re going to be in the Great Depression,’” she recalled. “I was like, ‘Wait, what?’ I’m like, ‘What is this show? What are you talking about? What do you mean?’”
The surprises kept coming when she learned the series was executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama through Higher Ground. “I knew nothing. I knew absolutely nothing,” Cuoco said.
She Plays Gloria in a Great Depression Soup-Line Sketch
In episode two, Cuoco plays Gloria, a woman who crosses paths with David’s unemployed character in a Great Depression-era soup line. PEOPLE reported that David’s character complains about a man pulling a “chat and cut,” questions why he was not mentioned in a suicide note, and later loses his own place in line over a bread mix-up.
Gloria becomes part of the chaos when David’s character tries to join her in line and is accused of attempting a “chat and cut” himself.
Cuoco said David asked her to insult him during their scene. “He was like, ‘Call me something. Just call me an imbecile or call me dumb [or] something,’” she recalled.
She chose “imbecile,” and the insult worked better than expected. Cuoco said David laughed so hard that the moment stayed with her. “It’s so fun when he finds you funny,” she told PEOPLE. “You literally think you won a medal.”
The Show Turns American History Into Larry David Comedy
Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness is a seven-episode HBO limited series from David and longtime Curb Your Enthusiasm collaborator Jeff Schaffer. Warner Bros. Discovery’s pressroom said the series was created by David and Schaffer, produced by Higher Ground and executive produced by David, Schaffer, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Ethan Lewis and Vinnie Malhotra.
The show’s official logline is, “Those who don’t know history… are doomed to watch Larry David repeat it.” HBO announced that the series debuted June 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT and would release new episodes weekly through the Aug. 7 finale.
PEOPLE reported that the series puts David into major moments from American history, with guest stars and Curb veterans appearing across the sketches. The trailer article listed Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Hamm, Sean Hayes, Lin-Manuel Miranda and other familiar names among the show’s guests.
David Called Cuoco After the Premiere
Cuoco said the experience with David continued after filming. After the show’s premiere in Los Angeles, she received a phone call from him while she was standing in line at a department store.
“I’d been standing in line for 20 minutes, I didn’t care,” Cuoco told PEOPLE. “I’m like, ‘Oh my God, Larry David is calling me.’”
She said David told her she had been great and that they were glad she was part of the show. Cuoco told him the appearance mattered to her because working with him twice had been an honor.
David’s answer was straightforward. “Any show I’m on, you’re going to be in too,” he told her, according to Cuoco.
The first two episodes of Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness are streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes airing Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT ahead of the Aug. 7 finale.
