Season five of ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

'', an American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

created by

Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for playing a Jerry Seinfeld (character), semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', which he ...

and

Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He and Jerry Seinfeld created the television sitcom ''Seinfeld'', on which David was head writer and executive producer for the first seve ...

, began airing on September 16, 1993, and concluded on May 19, 1994, on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

Production

''Seinfeld'' was produced by

Castle Rock Entertainment Castle Rock Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded in 1987 by Martin Shafer, director Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, Glenn Padnick and Alan Horn. It is a label of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself a subsidiar ...

and distributed by

Columbia Pictures Television Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CPT) was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution studio. It is the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gem ...

and

Columbia TriStar Television Columbia TriStar Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CTT) was an American television production and distribution company that was active from 1994 to 2002. It was operated as the third name of the early television studio Screen Gems and the fourth ...

and was aired on

in the United States. The executive producers were

George Shapiro George Shapiro (May 18, 1931 – May 26, 2022) was an American talent manager and television producer. He was among the most successful managers in show business in the United States, best known for representing Jerry Seinfeld, Carl Reiner and A ...

, and Howard West with

Tom Gammill Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

and

Max Pross Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) (1 ...

as supervising producers. Bruce Kirschbaum was the executive consultant. This season was directed by

Tom Cherones Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

. The series was set predominantly in an apartment block on New York City's

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

; however, the fifth season was shot and mostly filmed in CBS Studio Center in Studio City, California. The show features

himself A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun that refers to another noun or pronoun (its antecedent) within the same sentence. In the English language specifically, a reflexive pronoun will end in ''-self'' or ''-selves'', and refer to a previously n ...

, and a host of Jerry's friends and acquaintances, which include

George Costanza George Louis Costanza is a fictional character in the American television sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), played by Jason Alexander. He is a short, stocky, balding man who struggles with numerous insecurities, often dooming his romantic rela ...

Elaine Benes Elaine Marie Benes () is a fictional character on the American television sitcom ''Seinfeld'', played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend in the sitcom is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld, and she is also good friends with George Costanza ...

, and Kramer, portrayed by

Jason Alexander Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor, comedian, host and director. An Emmy and Tony winner, he is best known for his role as George Costanza in the television series '' Se ...

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and producer who worked on the comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1982–1985), ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), ''The New Adventures ...

and

Michael Richards Michael Anthony Richards (born July 24, 1949) is an American actor, writer, television producer, and comedian best known for playing Cosmo Kramer on the television sitcom '' Seinfeld''. He began his career as a stand-up comedian, first enterin ...

, respectively.

Reception

Critical reception

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 10/10, based on 8 critic reviews.

Awards

Season five received 12 Emmy nominations and won two. Michael Richards won his second of three Emmys for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Janet Ashikaga won the Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Editing for a Series for the episode "

The Opposite ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

". Jerry Seinfeld was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Jason Alexander was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, losing to co-star Michael Richards. Julia Louis-Dreyfus was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

Marlee Matlin Marlee Beth Matlin (born August 24, 1965) is an American actress, author, and activist. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for a ...

was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for playing Laura in the episode "

The Lip Reader "The Lip Reader" is the 70th episode of the sitcom '' Seinfeld''. It is the sixth episode of the fifth season, and first aired on October 28, 1993. In this episode, George gets Jerry's deaf girlfriend to use her lip reading talent to eavesdrop on ...

Judge Reinhold Edward Ernest "Judge" Reinhold Jr. (born May 21, 1957) is an American actor who has starred in several Hollywood movies, such as ''Ruthless People'', ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'', ''Stripes'' and ''Gremlins'', and co-starred in all of the fil ...

was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for playing Aaron for the episodes " The Raincoats (part 1 and 2)". The episode "

The Mango "The Mango" is the 65th episode of the sitcom '' Seinfeld''. It aired on September 16, 1993, and is the premiere of the show's fifth season. Larry David said that a friend of his came up with the setup of this episode: Elaine never having orgas ...

" was nominated for two Emmys: Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series (

Lawrence H. Levy Lawrence H. Levy is an American screenwriter, author, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his work on television series ''Savannah'', ''Fantasy Island'', ''Family Ties'', ''Trapper John, M.D.'', ''Saved by the Bell'', '' Who's the Boss?'', ...

and Larry David), and Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series (Tom Cherones). Larry David was also nominated for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series for the episode "

The Puffy Shirt "The Puffy Shirt" is the second episode of the fifth season of the American NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld''. It was the 66th episode and originally aired on September 23, 1993. The episode centers on Jerry having to wear an ostentatious "puffy" shirt on ...

". ''Seinfeld'' was also nominated for Outstanding Sound Mixing in a Comedy Series or Special for the episode "

The Bris "The Bris" is the 69th episode of the sitcom ''Seinfeld''. It is the fifth episode of the fifth season, and first aired on October 14, 1993. The story centers on the bris for the newborn child of two of Jerry and Elaine's friends. Jerry and Ela ...

". It was also nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series again, but lost to ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Case ...

''. ''Seinfeld'' was also nominated for four

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

s and won three of them: Best Performance by an Actor in TV series-comedy (Jerry Seinfeld), Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV (Julia Louis- Dreyfus), and Best TV series-comedy/musical. Jason Alexander was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV. This season was also nominated for Directors Guild of America (Tom Cherones) for "The Mango", and won a

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Guil ...

Award (Lawrence H. Levy and Larry David) for "The Mango".

Nielsen ratings

Season five placed #3 in the

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

below ''

Home Improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation, or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electrical and plumbing), ...

'' and ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...

''.

Episodes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seinfeld (Season 5) 5 1993 American television seasons 1994 American television seasons