Rating: 4.5/ 5 stars

Larry David has returned to grace TV screens with his unique brand of awkwardness. After a six-year hiatus, the social assassin is back on HBO’s hit comedy “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Fans of the show were never certain that it would return until HBO announced a ninth season was happening in June of 2016. David has a special contract with HBO.

He will make a season when he feels like it and if he believes he has a story that is worthy enough. Louis C.K. had a similar deal with FX Networks for his series “Louie,” which he said is most likely done and over with. “Curb Your Enthusiasm” is a loosely scripted, mostly improvised comedy series that focuses on David’s life after “Seinfeld.”

David has opinions and is not afraid to tell them to others, no matter how much they might disagree with him. There are certain social conventions, such as the “chat-and-cut,” where a person will attempt to cut a long line by having a conversation with someone further up than them, or trying to find the right time to break up with someone that might have cancer, that David does not agree with. He has no problem inserting himself in other people’s business, problems and lives.

In simpler terms, he is an obnoxiously rude old man. Dragging along his manager Jeff Greene (Jeff Garlin, “The Goldbergs”), his roommate Leon Black (J.B. Smoove, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”) and his now ex-wife Cheryl (Cheryl Hines, “Son of Zorn”) along for the ride. Like David, a lot of the actors play warped versions of themselves, such as Ted Danson (“Cheers”), stand-up comic Richard Lewis and Wanda Sykes (“Black-ish”), with other appearances from Martin Scorsese (“Silence”), the cast of “Seinfeld,” Ben Stiller (“Zoolander 2”) and countless others.

David said he has spent the last six years finding unexplored subjects, ideas and scenarios that the fictional version of Larry David could then, well, basically destroy. David can take the most basic social conventions, along with subjects some people would never touch, and dissect them to find the humor in them. He has mastered this over eight seasons, creating a formula so good that some argue it is even better than his even bigger project, “Seinfeld.”

David probably knew he had to shake things up if he was going to do a ninth season, now tying “Seinfeld” for number of seasons. That is exactly what he has done. The season nine premiere, “Foisted!” catches the audience up with the lives of the favorite characters and getting into typical Larry David moments while setting up what seems to be an actual storyline this season.

Seasons prior have had a story, but never dedicated a whole season to progressing it along. David has spent the last six years writing a Broadway play (reminiscent of his real life play “Fish in the Dark” from 2015) and is finally ready to unveil it to the world.

Without revealing too much, a botched appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” puts Larry, and the show, in territory it has never explored before. It puts him on the run from basically everyone and makes him genuinely fear for his life, which is a surprising shift in momentum for the series.

The premiere leaves everyone wanting more, wondering where this could possibly go next and dying of laughter. It is safe to say that HBO was able to bring back arguably the most anticipated show of the last decade while proving Larry David is a comedic genius.

Photo provided by HBO via Youtube