More than six months after he died under tragic circumstances, Rob Reiner has appeared on screen one more time. The director, stabbed to death in December, contributed to the recording of the comedy series before his death Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: an Almost History of America (2026– ), in which he played the first president of the United States.
Founding father
The HBO miniseries is a collaboration between famous comedian Larry David (of Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000–2024)) and former President Barack Obama, who will produce the satirical title together with his wife Michelle. The aim of the series was to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US (last Saturday, July 4, ed.) in a special way, with political sketches. In this capacity, Reiner plays former President George Washington, the country’s most important founding father, in episode two (since Independence Day on HBO Max).
Third term
In the scene, Washington says he will not run for a third term as president of the United States, and calls on future presidents to do the same. It does not require too much background knowledge to see this call as a sneer at current President Donald Trump, who is in his second term but has already spoken several times about the chance that he will continue for longer.
Criticism of Trump
Reiner is known to have been a big skeptic of Trump, and the president also heard this. When the creator passed away, he posted a controversial message on Truth Social saying that Reiner was suffering from “Trump-crazed disorder.” By doing so, he implied that the director was not mentally healthy because he had regularly been critical of Trump’s performance.
Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: an Almost History of America runs for a few more weeks on HBO Max. The miniseries consists of seven episodes in total.
Beeld: Still ‘Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: an Almost History of America’ via HBO Max
