Making good on years of tentative "we'll sees" from both the creator and network, Curb Your Enthusiasm will indeed return to HBO. The network on Tuesday announced a ninth season for the beloved Larry David comedy, though a formal return date was not included.

Curb Your Enthusiasm last aired an original episode in September 2011, and the nearly five-year gap since has seen neither HBO nor David ready to publicly dismiss the idea of revisiting the show. On the network end, former programming president Michael Lombardo had said he was "cautiously optimistic" about more Curb — while David, in keeping with his schtick, often appeared less than optimistic in the many instances he's been pressed about the subject.

On his decision to revisit his alter ego, David had this to say: “In the immortal words of Julius Caesar, ‘I left, I did nothing, I returned.’”

To say he's done nothing might be a bit melodramatic. David has been hard to miss in the last year, parodying Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Saturday Night Live, hosting the show and most recently sitting down on NBC variety hour Maya and Marty for an interview with Martin Short character Jiminy Glick.

It's the first big move for newly minted programming chief Casey Bloys, who assumed creative reins at HBO just a month ago. He shared the news during a sit-down at the Banff World Media Festival. In a statement, he said, “We’re thrilled that Larry has decided to do a new season of Curb and can’t wait to see what he has planned."

Curb, starring David as an exaggerated version of himself, has skewered Hollywood and, more often, David since it premiered as a special in 1999. A total of 80 episodes have aired since, the biggest breaks between seasons taking place between the third and fourth and seventh and eighth runs.

David has not strayed from HBO. His biggest effort since the last season of Curb was the 2013 HBO Film Clear History, which he starred in and wrote.

But it's a welcome bit of good news for HBO. The network, which has seen its executive shuffle happen amid a string of mediocre launches, has only a handful of new series premiering in 2016 — though its new slate is comedy-heavy. Sarah Jessica Parker starrer Divorce, web adaptation High Maintenance and Issa Rae's Insecure are all on deck for the year, with Danny McBride's Vice Principals next up in July.

Over its long, unconventional run, Curb has earned 39 Emmy nominations but only two wins (for directing and editing). The most recent season was one of its most popular, pulling in more than 2 million live viewers to an episode.