In the HBO special upon which the series was based, Larry approaches HBO about having his own hour-long HBO special. After a long hiatus, Larry begins performing stand-up comedy again in order to prepare for the special. However, hours away from the show’s scheduled filming, Larry becomes nervous and lies to the HBO executives about the illness of his nonexistent stepfather in order to get the special canceled. After Larry is seen with a young woman, Cheryl accuses him of cheating. She has him swear on his children’s lives, discovering it to be Jeff who is cheating with her.