“Seinfeld” Buzz Doesn’t Yet Help “Curb Your Enthusiasm” Rating

Though the “Seinfeld” reunion story arc has not yet formally begun on the seventh season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” its lingering presence on the horizon has brought the HBO comedy a great deal of media attention.

But despite all the hype (and glowing reviews), when it came time for viewers to watch the seventh season premiere this weekend, few turned their television sets to HBO. The premiere earned just 1.1 million viewers, a decline of several million from what “True Blood” was garnering in the timeslot and a slight dip from the sixth season debut.

When the 10PM replay was figured into the rating, a total of 1.9 million watched the Larry David series’ seventh season premiere. While the Emmy telecast and the fact that the “Seinfeld” cast was not slated to appear on the first episode might have had somewhat of an impact on ratings, it is clear that interest in the series–”Seinfeld” or no “Seinfeld”–has largely vanished.

New series “Bored to Death,” which premiered after “Curb,” bowed to 1 million viewers (the replay later in the night brought the total to 1.6 million). Without help from “True Blood” and “Hung,” “Entourage” slipped to 1.8 million viewers Sunday night.