Curb Your Enthusiasm "Fatwa!", centered around "The Satanic Verses" controversy, in which Ayatollah Khomeini ordered a fatwa against Salman Rushdie in 1989. "Curb Your Enthusiasm" is one of the most acclaimed television shows of the 2000s, praised particularly for its writing and the actors' improvisational comedy. The show has enjoyed largely positive critical reception since its debut and a steadily growing, dedicated audience that helped it emerge from its early "cult" status. On Metacritic, the first season of the show scored 80 out of 100 (based on 20 reviews), 93 for season 3 (based on 12 reviews), 88 for season 4 (18 reviews),
The Larry Sanders Show of the series were made in this season: "Everybody Loves Larry", in which Larry starts suspecting that David Duchovny has sexual feelings for him; "My Name is Asher Kingsley", in which Hank explores his Jewish roots; "Ellen, or Isn't She?", in which Larry and Artie try to find if Ellen DeGeneres is really a lesbian; "The New Writer", in which Wendy (Sarah Silverman) begins working as a writer, much to Phil's dismay; "The Book", in which Larry writes an autobiography; "Pain Equals Funny", in which Paula leaves the show; and the season finale, "Larry's New Love", in which Hank is