Ever since Curb Your Enthusiasm ended its eighth season on HBO in 2011, it’s become constant cocktail and blog fodder to speculate whether the critically lauded Larry David comedy would return for a ninth season. As each year passed, hope began to dwindle — David’s a pretty busy guy, after all — but about a month ago, a phone call between J.B. Smoove and David might’ve served as a major game changer for the show’s future. “I call Larry every two weeks, because he’s old, he’s a busy man, so I always check on older people,” Smoove, who plays Leon Black on the show, said while appearing on The Rich Eisen Show earlier this week. “I just talk about regular stuff with him, it’s not always Curb stuff. But this time, aha! He brings up Curb Your Enthusiasm; I don’t ever bring it up.”

The conversation that ensued was extremely optimistic for Curb enthusiasts. “He starts off with his little, ‘Ehhhhh, you know, I’m thinking about coming back.’ But see, that’s great because he has not said no, which puts us in a great position for possibilities … that means it’s still going,” Smoove continued. “If Larry does not say no, there’s a possibility he may say yes. And then he went extra. He said, ‘If I do come back, would you be available?’ I said, ‘You know something Larry, I’ll be available. Just call me, give me early notice, and I’ll be there.’ I’ll move anything to the side for Curb Your Enthusiasm, which would be a fabulous thing to do. Season nine would be fabulous.” Yes, it most certainly would, J.B.