Larry David and Barack Obama bicker in Life, Larry, And The Pursuit Of Unhappiness teaser

David thinks putting a former president as your emergency contact is an obviously smart idea.

By Drew Gillis  |  May 7, 2026 | 12:50pm
Photo Courtesy of Art Streiber/HBO
News News Life, Larry, And The Pursuit Of Unhappiness
Larry David and Barack Obama bicker in Life, Larry, And The Pursuit Of Unhappiness teaser

Has Barack Obama gone Hollywood, or has Larry David gone Washington? The answer is both. As we gear up for the 250th birthday of the United States, the Obamas and David have been cooking up Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Unhappiness at HBO. The series already released one clip from one of its sketches back in March, which sees Larry David get called a pervert, Nazi, and “pervo Nazi” during a V-J Day celebration. But this new clip actually has the former president in it, where he’s also subject to David’s unmatched ability to kill a vibe. 

“I have sat across the table from some of the world’s most difficult leaders, and wrestled with some of the globe’s most intractable problems,” says Obama. “Nothing has prepared me for working with Larry David.” Zing! The two then bicker about whether Obama is an acceptable name to put down as an emergency contact because David doesn’t know anyone else who likes him. 

As Obama says in the clip, he’s only a producer on the show, which means we probably won’t see too much more of him on screen, and probably won’t see him in any kind of wacky historical costumes (though he would be a pretty good presenter for the historical sketches, à la Helen Mirren in Documentary Now!). We’ll see what ends up happening when Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Unhappiness premieres on HBO on June 26. 

 
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