# Jeff Schaffer
**Jeff Schaffer** (born 1970) is an American television and film writer, director, and producer known for his work on *Seinfeld*, *Curb Your Enthusiasm*, *The League*, and *[Dave](https://www.edgepedia.org/dave-tv-series)*. He joined *Seinfeld* as a writer in the mid-1990s, rose to executive producer, and later served as showrunner of [Larry David](https://www.edgepedia.org/larry-david)'s *Curb Your Enthusiasm* from 2009 until that series ended with its twelfth season in April 2024.[1](https://onwriting.libsyn.com/episode-120-julio-torres-jeff-schaffer-in-conversation)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1970, Cleveland, Ohio; raised in Warren, Ohio[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jeff-schaffer/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769840/) |
| Education | Western Reserve Academy; Harvard College, class of 1991, degree in biological anthropology; staff member of The Harvard Lampoon[4](https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2021/01/montage-magical-digressions) |
| *Seinfeld* | Writer from the 1994-1995 season, executive producer for the 1997-1998 season; devised the Festivus pole and co-wrote the episode that popularized "re-gifting"[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jeff-schaffer/) • [4](https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2021/01/montage-magical-digressions) |
| *Curb Your Enthusiasm* | Executive producer from season 5; showrunner from 2009 through the twelfth and final season, concluded April 2024[5](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/how-larry-david-ended-up-wearing-a-maga-hat-on-curb-your-enthusiasm/) • [1](https://onwriting.libsyn.com/episode-120-julio-torres-jeff-schaffer-in-conversation) |
| Co-created with Jackie Schaffer (*The League*) and Dave Burd (Lil Dicky) (*Dave*) | *The League* (2009-2015, 84 episodes) and *Dave* (2020-2023, 30 episodes)[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769840/) • [15](https://abc.com/show/f5590177-82d5-472b-9cca-77674542ecaa/about-the-show) |
| Film credits | Co-writer of *EuroTrip* (2004, also director), *Brüno* (2009), *The Dictator* (2012), and the TV movie *Clear History* (2013)[6](https://notablepeopleproject.org/jeff_schaffer) |
| Emmy recognition | Nine Primetime Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series for *Seinfeld* (1997, 1998) and *Curb Your Enthusiasm* (2008, 2010, 2012, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024)[7](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/jeff-schaffer) |
## Early life and education
Schaffer was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in Warren, Ohio.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jeff-schaffer/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769840/) Published sources disagree on his exact birth date, giving 1970[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jeff-schaffer/) and January 21, 1970.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769840/) He attended Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio, and then [Harvard College](https://www.edgepedia.org/harvard-college), graduating in 1991.[4](https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2021/01/montage-magical-digressions)
At Harvard he wrote for the humor publication [The Harvard Lampoon](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-harvard-lampoon), which he later described as the place he learned comedy writing was a legitimate career.[4](https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2021/01/montage-magical-digressions) His coursework was deliberately scattered: he was briefly pre-med, concentrated in classics, studied Mayan civilization, and graduated with a degree in biological anthropology.[4](https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2021/01/montage-magical-digressions) With fellow Lampoon members Alec Berg and David Mandel he wrote a fake Lampoon documentary timed to MTV's tenth anniversary, which [Comedy Central](https://www.edgepedia.org/comedy-central) picked up, an early professional credit.[4](https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2021/01/montage-magical-digressions)
After college he moved to Los Angeles with Berg. The two cold-called their way into nearly two years of full-time work, including writing jobs on *Late Night with Conan O'Brien*, the early-1990s sitcom *Herman's Head*, and an episode of the 1992 series *Great Scott*, whose showrunners, Tom Gammill and Max Pross, had a deal at Castle Rock, the production company behind *Seinfeld*.[8](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/features/great-expectations)
## Seinfeld
Schaffer joined *Seinfeld* as a consultant for the 1994-1995 season and later served as executive producer for the 1997-1998 season, the show's final run.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jeff-schaffer/) He arrived alongside his Harvard friends Berg and David Mandel, and the three wrote for the show from 1995.[4](https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2021/01/montage-magical-digressions)
Two of the show's durable contributions trace to him. He originated the idea for the Festivus pole, and together with Berg he co-wrote the episode that introduced "re-gifting" into the English language.[4](https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2021/01/montage-magical-digressions) He has described the *Seinfeld* process as having no traditional writers' room: writers worked up ideas independently, pitched them to Larry David and [Jerry Seinfeld](https://www.edgepedia.org/jerry-seinfeld), and then mapped how the separate stories intersected, what he calls "comedy geometry."[9](https://www.podscan.fm/podcasts/screenplayed-breakdown/episodes/seinfeld-writer-amp-curb-your-enthusiasm-director-jeff-schaffer-reveals-why-larry-david-refuses-to-rehearse-and-how-he-directs-improvised-chaos) When one of the three had an episode, David brought him through casting, editing, and the sound mix, training Schaffer later credited for his move into directing and producing; after David left the show for its last two years, Schaffer helped take over those duties.[10](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/jeff-schaffer-curb-your-enthusiasm-dave-showrunner-70993/)
## Curb Your Enthusiasm
Schaffer became an executive producer on Larry David's *Curb Your Enthusiasm*, joining in its fifth season, and worked on the series from 2007 to 2009 in that early stretch.[5](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/how-larry-david-ended-up-wearing-a-maga-hat-on-curb-your-enthusiasm/) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jeff-schaffer/) He served as showrunner from 2009 until the end of the twelfth and final season, which concluded in April 2024.[1](https://onwriting.libsyn.com/episode-120-julio-torres-jeff-schaffer-in-conversation)
**The improvised method.** *Curb* shoots from a story outline a few pages long rather than a script, and the episodes are not rehearsed before filming, because David wants to be genuinely surprised by what the other actors say.[4](https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2021/01/montage-magical-digressions) • [10](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/jeff-schaffer-curb-your-enthusiasm-dave-showrunner-70993/) Schaffer has described the show as being written three times, in the outline, on the day of shooting, and again in the edit, with each scene a "live re-write" in which he feeds lines to actors during takes and shapes episodes simultaneously as writer, director, and editor.[11](https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/curb-your-enthusiasm-writer-director-jeff-schaffer/id1553941934?i=1000746484096) He calls the unplanned on-set exchanges that get worked into episodes "magical digressions," and argues they hold together because the underlying structure is built in advance.[4](https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2021/01/montage-magical-digressions)
His story contributions include the season 10 plot in which David wears a MAGA hat around Los Angeles to keep people away from him; writer Teddy Bressman proposed the idea, and Schaffer has said the episode finished filming in November 2018 but was held until January 2020 because of a running joke about when it becomes too late to wish someone a happy new year.[5](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/how-larry-david-ended-up-wearing-a-maga-hat-on-curb-your-enthusiasm/) He also directed the seventh-season finale, which featured a reunion of the original *Seinfeld* cast.[6](https://notablepeopleproject.org/jeff_schaffer)
## The League and Dave
With his wife, Jackie Schaffer, he co-created *The League*, a sitcom about Chicagoans in a fantasy football league, and the two ran it for seven seasons, from 2009 to 2015.[4](https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2021/01/montage-magical-digressions) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769840/) The show used a semi-improvised format.[12](https://film.one/person/jeff-schaffer)
He then co-created *Dave* with the rapper and comedian Dave Burd ([Lil Dicky](https://www.edgepedia.org/lil-dicky)), loosely based on Burd's life. The series premiered on FXX in March 2020 and became the most popular comedy in FX's history at the end of its first season.[10](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/jeff-schaffer-curb-your-enthusiasm-dave-showrunner-70993/) Schaffer served as executive producer and showrunner on the series, which ran 30 episodes through 2023.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769840/) He has described *Dave*, like *The League*, as sitting between the tightly scripted *Seinfeld* model and the outline-driven *Curb* model: more scripted per scene, but cast with improvisers encouraged to say lines their own way.[4](https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2021/01/montage-magical-digressions)
## Film work
Schaffer's feature credits center on broad comedy. He wrote and directed *EuroTrip* (2004), a teen comedy he made with Berg and Mandel; the film performed modestly at the box office despite [Ivan Reitman](https://www.edgepedia.org/ivan-reitman)'s involvement as executive producer.[6](https://notablepeopleproject.org/jeff_schaffer) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jeff-schaffer/) He participated in the screenplay for the 2003 adaptation of *The Cat in the Hat*, and later co-wrote the [Sacha Baron Cohen](https://www.edgepedia.org/sacha-baron-cohen) features *Brüno* (2009) and *The Dictator* (2012), the latter with Berg and Mandel and directed by [Larry Charles](https://www.edgepedia.org/larry-charles).[6](https://notablepeopleproject.org/jeff_schaffer) The same four writers wrote the 2013 TV movie *Clear History*, starring Larry David.[6](https://notablepeopleproject.org/jeff_schaffer) His other film credits include additional dialogue for *Shark Tale* (2004).[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769840/)
## Later work and recognition
After *Curb* ended in 2024, Schaffer continued his partnership with Larry David on a new HBO project: a limited sketch series about U.S. history for the nation's 250th anniversary, produced by Barack and [Michelle Obama](https://www.edgepedia.org/michelle-obama)'s company Higher Ground, on which Schaffer co-writes and directs episodes.[13](https://apnews.com/article/50ded1e44b6e4fba2b543d1a6dd9ac29) The series, *[Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness](https://www.edgepedia.org/life-larry-and-the-pursuit-of-unhappiness)*, is written and produced by David and co-creator Schaffer, who also directs.[14](https://elpais.com/television/series/life-larry-and-the-pursuit-of-unhappiness/)
The Television Academy lists nine Primetime Emmy nominations for Schaffer, all in Outstanding Comedy Series: as supervising producer of *Seinfeld* in 1997 and executive producer in 1998, and as executive producer of *Curb Your Enthusiasm* in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024.[7](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/jeff-schaffer) IMDb records one win and 26 nominations in total across his career.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769840/)
## References
1. [Episode 120: Julio Torres & Jeff Schaffer in conversation, OnWriting (WGA East)](https://onwriting.libsyn.com/episode-120-julio-torres-jeff-schaffer-in-conversation)
2. [Jeff Schaffer - Director, Writer, Producer, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jeff-schaffer/)
3. [Jeff Schaffer, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0769840/)
4. [TV writer and producer Jeff Schaffer talks shop, Harvard Magazine](https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2021/01/montage-magical-digressions)
5. [How Larry David Ended Up Wearing a MAGA Hat on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm', The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/how-larry-david-ended-up-wearing-a-maga-hat-on-curb-your-enthusiasm/)
6. [Jeff Schaffer, Notable People Project](https://notablepeopleproject.org/jeff_schaffer)
7. [Jeff Schaffer, Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/jeff-schaffer)
8. [Great Expectations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/features/great-expectations)
9. [Seinfeld Writer & Curb Your Enthusiasm Director Jeff Schaffer, Screenplayed Breakdown podcast](https://www.podscan.fm/podcasts/screenplayed-breakdown/episodes/seinfeld-writer-amp-curb-your-enthusiasm-director-jeff-schaffer-reveals-why-larry-david-refuses-to-rehearse-and-how-he-directs-improvised-chaos)
10. ['Curb Your Enthusiasm' + 'Dave' Showrunner Jeff Schaffer on What He Likes in Comedy Actors, Backstage](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/jeff-schaffer-curb-your-enthusiasm-dave-showrunner-70993/)
11. ['Curb Your Enthusiasm' Writer/Director Jeff Schaffer, Screenplayed Breakdown, Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/curb-your-enthusiasm-writer-director-jeff-schaffer/id1553941934?i=1000746484096)
12. [Jeff Schaffer, films, reviews and where to watch, Fi1m](https://film.one/person/jeff-schaffer)
13. [Larry David teams with the Obamas for HBO US history sketch show, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/50ded1e44b6e4fba2b543d1a6dd9ac29)
14. [Vida, Larry David y la búsqueda de la infelicidad, El País](https://elpais.com/television/series/life-larry-and-the-pursuit-of-unhappiness/)
15. [About DAVE TV Show Series](https://abc.com/show/f5590177-82d5-472b-9cca-77674542ecaa/about-the-show)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Producers, studio executives, and showrunners › Television producers and showrunners › Comedy and sitcom creators*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license