Hapless Continues Larry David's Mission to First Do No Good

As Curb Your Enthusiasm approached its end (seemingly for real this time), it looked like Larry David (the fictional one) was finally going to get his comeuppance as a result of one of the few decent things he did with no expectation of reciprocity, perversely enough. But like the real Larry David, Curb’s curmudgeonly protagonist had friends in high places, one of whom came to rescue him in his hour of need. He also found a way to right a wrong, suggesting an alternate ending to Seinfeld, even if it was 26 years too late.

Paul Green (Tim Downie, who just made a memorable impression in Big Mood), the lead character in Gary Sinyor’s Hapless, has no such influence or illustrious friends — he’s a freelance reporter for the Jewish Enquirer, “the fourth-largest Jewish publication in the UK,” following leads on ridiculous fluff pieces. On the rare occasion that he covers something of significance, the story is usually buried beneath exclusives and lead stories that are the equivalent of neighborhood gossip, or else merely state the obvious. And his cohort is hardly impressive: best friend Simon (comedian Josh Howie) is a wannabe lothario with no real job, judging by how often he’s free in the middle of the day to accompany Paul on some of his more absurd assignments.

If you’ve ever wondered how someone as irascible as Larry David would fare in a world where he wasn’t behind one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, Paul is a pretty good approximation. He shares LD’s preoccupation with social mores and how to evade them; he also enjoys coining terms for life’s little annoyances, like toilet seats that slam shut (“loud close”) and people who refuse to share the name of their fragrance (“perfume protectives”). But beyond basic English propriety, few of the people Paul encounters and almost immediately rubs the wrong way are willing to overlook his infractions. Unlike Larry, who’d earned goodwill through Seinfeld, Paul doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt often.

But that doesn’t keep him from being petty and blunt in equal measure. He might not have money or fame, but as an investigative reporter — albeit one who often has to write stories that make cute animal videos look like hard-hitting journalism by comparison — Paul feels he’s on a mission. Which is why he can’t let companies make exaggerated claims when marketing their products, or politely choke down a swig of coffee with some noxious hemp creamer, even if it was free. He believes he’s championing the voiceless when he points out that an actress’ follow-up to her breakthrough role is “sh*te,” and keeping objectivity alive by parsing just how much skill is involved in different manual labor jobs.

In some ways, Hapless is even more uncomfortable than Curb Your Enthusiasm; there’s no Hollywood sheen, no star wattage to distract from the show’s stomach-twisting predicaments. When Paul, a Jew living in London, wades into the Israel-Palestine conflict, it’s as a regular person, not a comedy writer. The audience isn’t trained to expect ironic detachment or a punchline, which makes it all the more ridiculous when his relatable response to a pro-Palestine canvasser leads to a rabbi becoming addicted to pornography. Paul’s search for a mohel similarly starts in a recognizable place, then ends with grown men pulling down their pants to gauge the sensitivity of circumcised penises versus uncircumcised ones — at the bris, no less.

Sinyor’s series isn’t as finely calibrated as Curb (the first several seasons, anyway); instead of constructing a Rube Goldberg machine of cause and effect, it races through multiple setups and the resulting fallout in every episode, looking for ways to gild the discomfiting lily. Season 1 provides more breathing room between social quandaries, giving Downie a chance to build to Paul’s latest embarrassment or grand stand. The second season, which is now streaming along with the first on Peacock, doubles down on the discomfort, leaving room for little else.

But “impotent Larry David” is a premise with potential — Paul suffers real indignities (usually of his own making), which are often bookended by a reflection of the sad state of clickbait media. He’s aware of the fact that he’s “racist, sexist, fattist, possibly transphobic and misanthropic." Yet he still goes out into the world ready to report on its injustices, and/or lend a helping hand to someone who will almost certainly regret it. Paul is the ultimate busybody; when personal experience fails, his job grants him cover to comment on how everyone else leads their lives — not so powerless after all.

It's debatable how much Larry David was able to bend the world to his will, to get others to see things from his own, very specific (some might say, twisted) viewpoint. But the mission he started with Seinfeld — no learning, no hugging; no real good — continues in Hapless.

Danette Chavez is the Editor-in-Chief of Primetimer and its biggest fan of puns.