Curb Your Enthusiasm executive producer Jeff Schaffer has addressed the future of the Marty Funkhouser character following the death of actor Bob Einstein last year.
Einstein was a regular fixture on the HBO comedy for six seasons, playing one of Larry David's oldest friends, but passed away during filming of the 10th season after a short battle with cancer.
In the show, it was said that Funkhouser had gone to China, while Vince Vaughn was introduced as new character Freddy Funkhouser, Marty's half-brother.
"Bob's passing caught us by surprise," Schaffer told the Hollywood Reporter. "We were in the middle of shooting the season and we had heard some really hopeful news that he was going to be ready to go in a month. This was right before Christmas of last year. And then things took a turn.
"We had pushed a lot of story thinking that we would save this and that for Bob. Then when it was clear he wasn't coming back, we did a whole bunch of gymnastics to figure out how we were going to tell these stories with other people.
"But amid all of that, it was way too soon and we loved him too much to say that he had actually passed away on the show. And maybe just because we didn't want to admit that he was gone, it was easier to say, 'Oh, he's in China. He'll be back.'"
On whether the situation would be addressed in a potential 11th season, Schaffer added: "Too early to tell. Again, we're not that far along! But I think as we talk about stories, we definitely think, 'Oh, this would have been amazing for Bob.' Which is sad two times over - because he would have been amazing and because it would have been nice to have him around."
Watch one of Einstein's most memorable scenes as Funkhouser below (warning: strong language!):
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