Seinfeld was one of the greatest television sitcoms in pop culture history, with memorable characters and scenarios performed by some of the most talented comedic actors of the decade.

Unfortunately, after the show ended in 1998, those actors — including the female lead Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who played book editor Elaine Benes — couldn’t launch another successful series, leading people to believe there was a Seinfeld curse.

It looks like the curse has finally been lifted.

On March 13, the comedy The New Adventures of Old Christine premiered on CBS with Louis-Dreyfus as the 35-year-old title character, whose 9-year-old son has been accepted into a private school where the other kids’ moms are rich and snobbish. The adventures begin as we watch the ackward Christine struggle to fit in with the other moms, and keep her cool while figuring out how to get back into dating. She rebounds a few times with a seemingly great guy she meets at her son’s school, who — unbeknownst to her — the other moms called “Sad Dad” (played wonderfully by Andy Richter).

Although she’s been divorced for two years, she’s still very close to her ex-husband Richard, but as it turns out, he’s dating a younger woman named — of all things — Christine! This is how the title character becames “old Christine,” much to her chagrin.

Louis-Dreyfus’s Christine is part self-depreciating, part overconfident. Because she is a career woman, Christine often feels inadequate around other the moms yet her pride often prompts her to behave ridiculously, resulting in some hilariously embarrassing comedy. She’s not great at cleaning or cooking, and isn’t above scooping flour out of the garbage pail to make cupcakes for her son’s parent-teacher conference.

Christine’s 20-something free-spirit brother Matthew lives with her and doubles as her nanny. Matthew is often along for the ride and left holding his sister’s purse whenever Christine gets an idea to do something, like try to get into a Rolling Stones concert or attempt to seduce an old boyfriend. At one point, Christine drops her purse and Matthew is left behind to pick up the contents, which includes an excessive amount of feminine hygiene products. When Matthew returns the purse to his sister, he tells her he left behind anything that had “strings and wings.”

While Louis-Dreyfus exhibits a physical comedy reminiscent of her former Seinfeld persona, especially the facial expressions, Christine is not a carbon copy of Elaine Benes (the route the actress took on her failed real-time sitcom Watching Ellie). Christine is a caring, if not at times neurotic, mother and successful business owner. While she tells a fib now and then, she’s mostly honest and likable, even though “old” Christine can be quite mean to her rival “new” Christine. But, most importantly, the character is extremely funny and entertaining.

The show wrapped its 13th and final episode of the season last month and has been renewed for the CBS fall 2006 lineup.