SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers for Episode 2 of “Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: Almost an American Story,” now streaming on HBO Max.

A month before he died, Rob Reiner filmed his final role as George Washington in Larry David’s historical comedy series “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness.”

His appearance on the HBO show was kept secret until the second episode aired on July 3. The sketch allows Reiner, who was an outspoken critic of Donald Trump, to “get the last laugh” against the sitting president, says director Jeff Schaffer. Variety. “It’s coming out over the Fourth of July weekend, and if it somehow ruins an octogenarian’s sad weekend, well!”

Like Washington, Reiner gives a speech in which he declares that he will not seek a third term and adds that Congress can pass a constitutional amendment to prohibit future presidents from remaining in power.

“Well, what if there’s some moron in office, some narcissistic moron who doesn’t follow the Constitution?” asks Larry David, dressed in 18th-century colonial attire. And the sketch turns into a long session of attacking you-know-who.

Reiner’s Washington emphasizes the importance of the peaceful transfer of power, and Larry says that any hypothetical future president who can’t admit he lost an election is a “sociopath” and a “lying, insecure jerk who would even cheat at golf.”

“He could use the presidency to enrich himself and his family. He could send troops into American cities to terrorize and even kill American citizens, all to distract from the fact that he is friends with a pedophile!” Larry says.

Jimmy Kimmel also makes a cameo as a fellow American, arguing, “Are you suggesting that the president would take the time to challenge anyone who dares to mock him? Like he’s a big baby?”

In the end, the settlers break out into shouting matches and physical fights over the mere idea of ​​such a man ever leading the country. The sketch ends with a shot of POTUS Reiner watching the madness. “We’re screwed,” he says, and then the episode closes with an “In Memoriam” card honoring the late actor and filmmaker.

Schaffer, who co-created “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness” and directed all seven episodes, says Variety It was a surreal experience directing Reiner because “he’s on the Mount Rushmore of directors.” He and David knew from the beginning that they wanted Reiner to play the first president of the United States, but David had one stipulation: “You have to shave your beard.”

“Rob said, ‘Really?’ and Larry insisted, ‘George Washington was clean shaven,’” Schaffer recalls. “Rob was never without a beard, but he really wanted to do the sketch, so he shaved it.”

They filmed the sketch on the Universal lot on November 13, about a month before Reiner was murdered inside his home alongside his wife Michele. (His son, Nick Reiner, was arrested and charged with the murders.) Schaffer says he and David were editing the sketch just two days before Reiner’s death. “It’s incredibly sad,” he says.

The team kept the cameo a secret, even swapping it for another sketch at the Los Angeles premiere of “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness,” in which HBO screened the first two episodes of the series.

“It just didn’t seem like the right way to show it to the world,” Schaffer says. “We thought a lot about where the sketch should air… and finally decided that July 3 was the perfect time. Just let it come out on the 4th of July weekend, the 250th day, and let it sink in that way.”