Rising ‘Enthusiasm’: Live Viewing Increases During Larry David’s Return to HBO

It’s been six years since Larry David graced TV screens playing his fictional self in Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO’s award-winning improvisational dark comedy. The show’s (previously indefinite) hiatus ended Sunday and its cherished antihero was back with the highly anticipated season nine premiere.

According to Inscape.tv, the TV data company with glass-level information from 7 million smart TV screens and devices, viewership slowly but steadily ticked up as the premiere progressed—while heavy hitters in broadcast comedy saw basically flat or slightly declining viewership as episodes wore on during the evening.

Related: ‘Tracey Ullman’s Show’ Back on HBO Oct. 20

It’s worth noting that some of the tune-out (noted by dips in the graphs below) can be chalked up to commercial breaks when people naturally channel surf—something that HBO doesn’t have to deal with. Sunday evening NFL may have also poached some viewers whose attention just wasn’t going to be held by animated comedy.

Will Curb continue to engender viewer, uh, enthusiasm, as the season wears on? Stay tuned!