LOS ANGELES, June 26 -- The most improbable pairing in the summer television calendar arrives on HBO tonight: Larry David, who spent twenty-four years being socially disastrous in contemporary Los Angeles for Curb Your Enthusiasm, now goes back in time to be socially disastrous at the founding of the United States. The executive producer making it possible is Barack Obama.

"Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness," premiering tonight at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and Max, has been among the summer's most anticipated debuts. The reviews, arriving ahead of the premiere this week, have not been unanimous. Rotten Tomatoes opens the series at 60 percent, Metacritic at 65. Variety called the Obama-David collaboration "hit-or-miss," noting that whi...