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''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by
Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He is known for his dry wit, portrayals of awkward social situations, and brutally honest takes on everyday life. He has received two Prim ...
and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of 180 episodes. Its
ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...
stars Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself and focuses on his personal life with three of his friends: best friend
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 rel ...
(
Jason Alexander Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor and comedian. Over the course of his career he has received an Emmy Award and a Tony Award as well as nominations for four Golden Globe ...
), former girlfriend
Elaine Benes Elaine Marie Benes () is a fictional character on the American television sitcom ''Seinfeld'', played by former SNL cast member Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend in the sitcom is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld, and she is also good fri ...
( Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and neighbor from across the hall Cosmo Kramer ( Michael Richards). ''Seinfeld'' is set mostly in and around the titular character's apartment in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
's Upper West Side in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. It has been described as "a show about nothing", often focusing on the minutiae of daily life. Interspersed in all episodes of the first seven seasons are moments of
stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...
from the fictional Jerry Seinfeld, frequently related to the episode's events. As a rising comedian in the late 1980s, Jerry Seinfeld was presented with an opportunity to create a show with NBC. He asked Larry David, a fellow comedian and friend, to help create a premise for a sitcom. The series was produced by West-Shapiro Productions and Castle Rock Entertainment and is distributed in syndication by Sony Pictures Television. It was largely written by David and Seinfeld along with scriptwriters. A favorite among critics, the series led 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 ...
in Seasons 6 and 9 and finished among the top two (along with '' ER'' of the same network) every year from 1994 to 1998. Only two other shows—''
I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian ...
'' and '' The Andy Griffith Show''—finished their runs at the top of the ratings. ''Seinfeld'' is almost universally regarded as one of the greatest and most influential American shows of all time. Its most renowned episodes include " The Chinese Restaurant", " The Soup Nazi", " The Parking Garage", " The Marine Biologist", and " The Contest"."TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time and over 6.5 billion different people have watched an episode". ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
''; June 15, 2009; pp. 34–49.
E! named it the "Number 1 reason hythe '90s ruled"."Reasons the '90s Ruled 101 – 81"
, TV.com
Quotes from numerous episodes have become catchphrases in popular culture.


Production


Conception

''Seinfeld'' began as a 23-minute pilot titled " The Seinfeld Chronicles". Created by Jerry Seinfeld and
Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He is known for his dry wit, portrayals of awkward social situations, and brutally honest takes on everyday life. He has received two Prim ...
, developed by NBC executive Rick Ludwin, and produced by Castle Rock Entertainment, it was a mix of Seinfeld's stand-up comedy routines and idiosyncratic, conversational scenes focusing on mundane aspects of everyday life like laundry, the buttoning of the top button on one's shirt, and the effort by men to interpret the intent of women spending the night in Seinfeld's apartment.Battaglio, Stephen (June 30, 2014). "'Annoying' 'Disorienting' 'Boring': On ''Seinfeld's'' 25th anniversary an exclusive look at the memo that almost killed the show". ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
''. pp. 18–19.
The pilot was filmed at Stage 8 of Desilu Cahuenga studios, the same studio where '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' was filmed (seen by the crew as a good omen), and was recorded at Ren-Mar Studios in Hollywood. The pilot was first screened to a group of two dozen NBC executives in
Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...
, in early 1989. This one, however, did not yield the explosion of laughter garnered by the pilots for the decade's previous NBC successes like '' The Cosby Show'' and ''
The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...
.''
Brandon Tartikoff Brandon Tartikoff (January 13, 1949 – August 27, 1997) was an American television executive who was head of the entertainment division of NBC from 1981 to 1991. He was credited with turning around NBC's low prime time reputation with several ...
was not convinced the show would work. A Jewish man from New York himself, Tartikoff characterized it as "Too New York, too Jewish". Test audiences were even harsher. NBC's practice at the time was to recruit 400 households by phone to ask them to evaluate pilots it aired on an unused channel on its cable system. An NBC research department memo summarized the pilot's performance among the respondents as "weak", which Warren Littlefield, then second-in-command in NBC's entertainment division, called "a dagger to the heart". Comments included, "You can't get too excited about two guys going to the laundromat", "Jerry's loser friend George isn't a forceful character", "Jerry needs a stronger supporting cast", and "Why are they interrupting the stand-up for these stupid stories?" Seinfeld and David did not see the memo for several years, but after they became aware of it, they hung it in a bathroom on the set. Seinfeld comments, "We thought, if someone goes in to use this bathroom, this is something they should see. It fits that moment." Around the time the show's pilot was filmed, Castle Rock Entertainment had also produced another pilot for NBC that featured Ann Jillian in her almost-similarly eponymous TV series. When ''The Seinfeld Chronicles'' tested poorly with audiences, Castle Rock focused on Jillian's series, which tested better with audiences and received a full-season order. '' Ann Jillian'' lasted only a single season of 13 episodes and was off the air by the end of 1990.


First seasons

When NBC announced its 1989–90 (primetime) schedule in May 1989, ''The Seinfeld Chronicles'' was not included, but the show's supporters did not give up. The pilot first aired on July 5, 1989, and finished second in its time slot against the CBS police drama '' Jake and the Fatman'', receiving a Nielsen rating of 10.9/19. The ratings did not exhibit the regional skew Tartikoff predicted, much to the encouragement of the show's supporters. Ludwin canceled one of the
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...
specials budgeted for that season so the entertainment division had the money to order four more episodes of ''The Seinfeld Chronicles'', which formed the rest of the show's first season (the series was by then retitled to ''Seinfeld'')—a move without which ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' columnist Phil Rosenthal later said there "would be no ''Seinfeld"''. Although this was a very low order number for a new series—and the smallest sitcom order in TV history—Castle Rock failed to find any other buyers when it shopped the show to other networks, and accepted the order. ''Seinfeld'' did not return to the airwaves until May 30, 1990, and it was another three years before it became a Top 5-rated show. Preston Beckman, in charge of NBC's research department at the time, reminisced, "The show was different. Nobody had seen anything like it. It wasn't unusual for poor-testing shows to get on the air, but it was very rare that they became hits." When the program was first repeated on July 5, 1990, it received a rating of 13.9/26. These ratings were high enough to secure a second season. NBC research showed that the show was popular with young male adults, a demographic sought after by advertisers. This gave NBC an incentive to keep broadcasting the show. One DVD reviewer, Britt Gillette, wrote that "this initial episode exhibits the flashes of brilliance that made ''Seinfeld'' a cultural phenomenon."


Filming

The show was written by David and Seinfeld, along with writers who included Larry Charles, Peter Mehlman, Gregg Kavet, Carol Leifer, David Mandel, Jeff Schaffer, Steve Koren, Jennifer Crittenden, Tom Gammill, Max Pross, Dan O'Keefe, Charlie Rubin, Marjorie Gross, Alec Berg, Elaine Pope, and Spike Feresten. Other than the pilot, the series was filmed at CBS Studio Center in
Studio City, Los Angeles Studio City is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in ...
. The first three seasons were filmed on Soundstage 19; it then moved to the larger Stage 9 for the remainder of its production. Despite numerous establishing shots taken in New York City, all scenes of the actors walking in New York were also filmed at CBS Studio Center, on their New York Street backlot. Street scenes and park scenes were filmed in the CBS Studio Centre's New York Street and Central Park backlots, respectively. A source of problems for the cast was the small sets, especially that of Jerry's apartment; Alexander noted, "If you knew you were doing a series for nine years, you would never build that set." Adding to the problem was that the scripts contained only minimal physical direction, leaving the actors needing help to come up with actions to perform while speaking. Eventually, they got into a routine of directing each other on how to make their movements look natural. Alexander said this helped them build chemistry with each other. Filming usually went long, as the cast and Larry David were perfectionists. If a joke did not elicit the desired reaction, they rewrote it and performed it again. In at least one case, "The Marine Biologist," this led to David writing an entirely new scene requiring Alexander to memorize a monologue in only a matter of minutes. Laugh tracks were used only for matching shots, not for artificially adding laughter. Various locations used for establishing shots included Tom's Restaurant at 112th Street and Broadway (Monk's Cafe), Midtown West's Roosevelt Hospital (recurring exterior emergency room scene and indoor scenes in 'The Junior Mint' and 'The Bris'), Cornell Medical Centre at 525 East 68th Street, 22-39 37th Street, Queens (The Costanza's house), the Taconic State Parkway exit to the Hopewell Junction, Dutchess County, New York (driving scene in 'The Bubble Boy'), and the Amagansett farmers market, Long Island ('The Hamptons'). The exterior shot used for Jerry's New York apartment building was actually located at 757 S New Hampshire Avenue, Los Angeles. The real-life exterior of Pendant Publishing, Elaine's workplace, is located at 1325 Ave of the Americas, New York. The live stand-up comedy performed by Seinfeld at the beginning of most episodes was truly filmed at The Improv, a comedy club at 358 West 44th Street, Manhattan; though it closed in 1993, another comedy club operates at the site today. The
Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...
exterior seen in the show has now been demolished. Most office building establishing shots are real businesses and locations. Various real street locations can be gleaned from the car windows during driving scenes. By the final season, each episode of the series cost $3 million to $3.5 million. More than 120 episodes make reference to the ''Superman'' franchise. Teri Hatcher, who played Lois Lane on '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', plays Jerry's girlfriend Sidra. Paula Marshall, who played Christina Riley on the ''Superboy'' TV series, portrays the journalist Sharon, who Jerry says reminds him of Lois Lane. Sherman Howard, who played Lex Luthor on ''Superboy'', portrays Roy. Superman logos and figurines frequently appear in Jerry's apartment. Seinfeld and Superman later appeared in an
American Express American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...
commercial.


Series overview


Plotlines

Many ''Seinfeld'' episodes are based on the writers' real-life experiences, with the experiences reinterpreted for the characters' storylines. For example, George's storyline in " The Revenge" is based on Larry David's experience at ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
''. " The Contest" is also based on David's experiences. " The Smelly Car" storyline is based on Peter Mehlman's lawyer friend, who could not get a bad smell out of his car. " The Strike" is based on Dan O'Keefe's dad, who made up his own holiday: Festivus. Other stories take a variety of turns. " The Chinese Restaurant" consists of George, Jerry, and Elaine waiting for a table throughout the entire episode. " The Boyfriend", revolving around Keith Hernandez, extends through two episodes. " The Betrayal" is famous for using reverse chronology and was inspired by a similar plot device in a
Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...
play, ''Betrayal''. Some stories were inspired by headlines and rumors, as explained in the DVD features "Notes About Nothing", "Inside Look" and "Audio Commentary." In " The Maestro", Kramer's lawsuit is roughly similar to the McDonald's coffee case. " The Outing" is based primarily on rumors that Larry Charles heard about Jerry Seinfeld's sexuality.


Themes

The series was often described as "a show about nothing". However, in 2014, Seinfeld stated: "The pitch for the show, the real pitch, when Larry and I went to NBC in 1988, was
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
we want to show how a comedian gets his material. The show "about nothing" was just a joke in an episode many years later, and Larry and I to this day are surprised that it caught on as a way that people describe the show because, to us, it's the opposite of that." David similarly commented: "I like taking the worst qualities that a person has and trying to make something funny out of it. Doesn't everybody do terrible things and have terrible thoughts? Just by trying to be as funny, you're going to deal with a lot of things that are real, so the show's really about something. The whole thing about the show being about nothing is ridiculous." Much of the show's humor is based upon repeated use of irony, incongruity, and (oftentimes unfortunate) coincidences. Additionally, guest characters are frequently introduced with little to no context, with a humorous focus on the atypical names of these characters, which often contain alliteration. In keeping with Seinfeld's reputation as a clean comedian, though the show frequently contains dialogue around sexual themes, the show notably avoids using almost all explicit sexual terminology. Notably, in the popular episode " The Contest", whose plot line concerns a contest amongst the main characters to see which one can go the longest without masturbating, the word 'masturbation' is never mentioned. ''Seinfeld'' broke several conventions of mainstream television. David is credited with refusing to follow a predictable sitcom formula that would have a romantic relationship develop between Jerry and Elaine. The show offers no growth or reconciliation to its characters and eschews sentimentality. An episode is typically driven by humor interspersed with the superficial conflicts of characters with peculiar dispositions. Many episodes revolve around the characters' involvement in the lives of others, with typically disastrous results. On the set, the notion that the characters should not develop or improve throughout the series was expressed as the "no hugging, no learning" rule. Larry David was adamant from the beginning that he did not want the characters to mature, grow or learn from their past mistakes. The characters are "thirty-something singles with vague identities, no roots, and conscious indifference to morals." Also unlike most sitcoms, there are no moments of
pathos Pathos appeals to the emotions and ideals of the audience and elicits feelings that already reside in them. ''Pathos'' is a term most often used in rhetoric (in which it is considered one of the three modes of persuasion, alongside ethos and ...
; the audience is never made to feel sorry for any of the characters. Even Susan's death in " The Invitations" elicits no genuine emotions from anybody in the show. ''Seinfeld'' does not shy away from making light of tough topics, from death to illness to disability. The show frequently engages in fourth-wall-breaking humor and self-satire. One such example is the
story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of a plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing narrative, storyline in episode, episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strip ...
, where the characters promote a TV sitcom series named ''Jerry''. The show within a show, ''Jerry'' was much like ''Seinfeld'' in that it was "about nothing," and Seinfeld played himself. The fictional ''Jerry'' was launched in the Season 4 finale, but unlike ''Seinfeld'', it was not picked up as a series. ''Jerry'' is one of many examples of
metafiction Metafiction is a form of fiction that emphasizes its own narrative structure in a way that inherently reminds the audience that they are reading or viewing a fictional work. Metafiction is self-conscious about language, literary form, and story ...
in the show. There are no fewer than 22 fictional movies featured, like ''Rochelle, Rochelle''. Because of these several elements, ''Seinfeld'' became the first TV series since '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'' to be widely described as postmodern. Seinfeld is an avid Abbott and Costello fan and has cited '' The Abbott and Costello Show'' as an influence on ''Seinfeld'': "Everybody on the show knows I'm a fan. We're always joking about how we do stuff from their show. George and I will often get into a riff that has the rhythm from the old Abbott and Costello shows. And sometimes, I'll hit George in the chest the way Abbott would hit Costello". The series includes numerous references to the team. George Costanza's middle name is "Louis", after Costello. " The Old Man" episode features a cantankerous character named "Sid Fields" as a tribute to the landlord on the team's TV show. Kramer's friend is named Mickey Abbott. A copywriter for the J. Peterman catalog is named Eddie Sherman, after the team's longtime agent. In Episode 30, Kramer hears the famous Abbott and Costello line, "His father was a mudder. His mother was a mudder."


Catchphrases

Many terms were coined, popularized, or re-popularized in the series' run and have become part of popular culture, including " Yada, yada, yada", " No soup for you!", " Master of my domain", " That's a shame", and " Not that there's anything wrong with that." The lexicon of Seinfeldian code words and recurring phrases that evolved around particular episodes is referred to as Seinlanguage, which is also the title of Jerry Seinfeld's best-selling book on humor. These terms include " man hands", " shrinkage", " regift", and " double dip".


Consumer products

A recurring feature of ''Seinfeld'' was its inclusion of specific products, especially
candy Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a Confectionery, confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum ...
, as plot points. These might be a central feature of a plot (e.g., Junior Mints, Twix, Chuckles, Jujyfruits, bite-size Three Musketeers,
Snickers Snickers (stylized in all caps) is a chocolate bar consisting of nougat topped with Caramel#Candy, caramel and peanuts, all encased in milk chocolate. The bars are made by the American company Mars Inc. The annual global sales of Snickers is ...
, Chunky, Oh Henry!, Drake's Coffee Cake and PEZ), or an association of candy with a guest character (e.g. Oh Henry! bars) or simply a conversational aside (e.g., Chuckles,
Clark Bar The Clark Bar is a chocolate bar, candy bar consisting of a crispy peanut butter/spun Taffy (candy), taffy core (originally with a caramel center) and coated in milk chocolate. It was introduced in 1917 by David L. Clark and was popular during and ...
, Twinkies). A large number of non-candy products were also featured throughout the series. The show's creators claim that they weren't engaging in a product placement strategy for commercial gain. One motivation for the use of real-world products, entirely unrelated to commercial considerations, is the comedy value of funny-sounding phrases and words. "I knew I wanted Kramer to think of watching the operation like going to see a movie," explained ''Seinfeld'' writer/producer Andy Robin in an interview published in ''The Hollywood Reporter''. "At first, I thought maybe a piece of popcorn falls into the patient. I ran that by my brother, and he said, 'No, Junior Mints are just funnier.'" Many advertisers capitalized on the popularity of ''Seinfeld''.
American Express American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...
created a webisode where Jerry Seinfeld and an animated
Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
(voiced by Patrick Warburton, who played the role of Puddy) starred in its commercial. The makers of the Today Sponge created the "Spongeworthy" game on their website, inspired by " The Sponge." An advertisement featured Jason Alexander in a Chrysler commercial. In this, Alexander acts much like his character George, and his relationship with Lee Iacocca plays on George's relationship with Steinbrenner. Similarly, Michael Richards was the focus of a series of advertisements for
Vodafone Vodafone Group Public Limited Company () is a British Multinational company, multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates Service (economic ...
, which ran in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, where he dressed and acted precisely like Kramer, including the trademark bumbling pratfalls. In addition, the show occasionally incorporated fictional products like a Scotch brand called "Hennigan's" (a blend of " Hennessy" and " Brannigans") and a canned meat product called "Beef-a-reeno" (a parody of " Beef-a-roni").


Music

A signature of ''Seinfeld'' is its theme music. Composed by Jonathan Wolff, it consists of distinct solo sampled electric bass riffs that open the show and connect the scenes, often accompanied by
beatboxing Beatboxing (also, and sometimes, called beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (usually a Roland TR-808, TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.the pilot episode. The show lacked a traditional title track and the riffs were played over the first moments of dialogue or action. They vary throughout each episode and are played in an improvised funk style, matching the timing of Seinfeld's stand-up comedy delivery or transitions in the editing. An additional musical theme with an ensemble, led by a synthesized mid-range brass instrument, ends each episode. In " The Note", the first episode of Season 3, the bumper music featured scatting female backup singers who sang a phrase that sounded like the tune "Easy to Beat". Jerry Seinfeld and executive producer Larry David both liked Wolff's additions, and three episodes were produced with this new style of music. However, they had neglected to inform NBC and Castle Rock executives of the change, and when the season premiere aired, the executives were surprised and unimpressed and requested that they return to the original style. The subsequent two episodes were redone, leaving this episode as the only one with additional music elements. In the commentary of "The Note," Louis-Dreyfus facetiously suggests it was removed because the perceived lyric related closely to the low ratings at the time. In the final three seasons, the bits were tweaked slightly with more frantic rhythms; a bass guitar was added in addition to the sampled bass from earlier seasons. Throughout the show, the main theme could be restyled in different ways depending on the episode. For instance, in "The Betrayal," part of which takes place in India, the theme is heard played on a sitar. The soundtrack was given a digital release on July 2, 2021.


Cast and characters


Main characters

* Jerry Seinfeld ( himself) – Jerry is a "minor celeb" stand-up comedian who is often depicted as " the voice of common sense and reason" amid the general insanity generated by the people in his world. The in-show character is a mild
germophobe Mysophobia, also known as verminophobia, germophobia, germaphobia, bacillophobia and bacteriophobia, is a pathological fear of contamination and germs. It is classified as a type of specific phobia, meaning it is evaluated and diagnosed base ...
and neat freak as well as an avid
Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
,
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
, and
breakfast cereal Breakfast cereal is a category of food, including food products, made from food processing, processed cereal, cereal grains, that are eaten as part of breakfast or as a snack food, primarily in Western societies. Although warm, cooked cereals li ...
fan. Jerry's apartment is the center of a world visited by his eccentric friends and a focus of the show. *
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 rel ...
(
Jason Alexander Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor and comedian. Over the course of his career he has received an Emmy Award and a Tony Award as well as nominations for four Golden Globe ...
) – George has been Jerry's best friend since high school. He is stingy, conniving, pedantic, and jealous of others' achievements. He is depicted as a loser who is perpetually lacking confidence about his capabilities. He rants and lies easily about his profession, relationships, and almost everything else, which usually creates trouble for him later. He often uses the alias Art Vandelay when lying or concocting a cover story. Despite these shortcomings, George is very reliable to his friends and has success in dating women, and he eventually secures a steady career as an assistant to the traveling secretary for the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
. The character of George was based on Larry David himself. *
Elaine Benes Elaine Marie Benes () is a fictional character on the American television sitcom ''Seinfeld'', played by former SNL cast member Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend in the sitcom is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld, and she is also good fri ...
( Julia Louis-Dreyfus) – Elaine is Jerry's ex-girlfriend and later friend. Generally depicted as smarter than her friends, she is friendly while also being sarcastic, somewhat elitist, and hot-tempered. She is occasionally depicted as
vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...
or pescatarian, without the strength of conviction to keep this up regularly. She sometimes tends to be too honest with people (usually by losing her temper), which often gets her into trouble. She usually gets caught up in her boyfriends' quirks, eccentric employers' unusual behaviors and idiosyncrasies, and the maladjustment of total strangers. She tends to make poor choices in men she dates and is often overly reactive. She works for a time at Pendant Publishing with Mr. Lippman. Later she is hired as a personal assistant for Mr. Pitt. She eventually worked for the J. Peterman catalog as a writer. Elaine is popularly described as an amalgamation of David's and Seinfeld's girlfriends during their early days in New York as struggling comedians. * Cosmo Kramer ( Michael Richards) – Kramer is Jerry's slacker neighbor. His trademarks include his humorous upright pompadour hairstyle, vintage clothes, and energetic sliding bursts through Jerry's apartment door. Kramer was heavily based on a neighbor of David's during his amateur comedic years in Manhattan. At times, he appears naïve, uneducated, and impulsive, and at other times, quick-witted, helpful, and empathetic; similarly he is exaggeratedly successful, socially, with his charisma and laid-back personality. This is seen in his success with women and employers. He has been described as a " hipster doofus." Although he never holds a steady job, he is rarely short of money and frequently invents wacky schemes that often work at first but eventually fail. Kramer is friends with Newman, and they work well together despite their differences. He often provides slapstick gags.


Recurring characters

Many characters have made multiple appearances, notably Jerry's parents, Morty and Helen Seinfeld, who reside in Florida; George's parents, the overbearing Frank and Estelle Costanza; George's on-again, off-again fiancée Susan Ross; Jerry's Uncle Leo; Elaine's variety of bosses, Mr. Lippman, Mr. Pitt and J. Peterman; Elaine's on-again, off-again boyfriend David Puddy; and Kramer's friend, Newman, a mail carrier who lives in the same building and is Jerry's nemesis. In addition to recurring characters, ''Seinfeld'' features numerous celebrities who appear as themselves or as girlfriends, boyfriends, bosses, and other acquaintances. ; Seinfeld's girlfriends A number of actresses made guest appearances as Seinfeld's love interests in single episodes: * Isabel ( Tawny Kitaen) – " The Nose Job" (season 3, episode 9) * Nina ( Catherine Keener) – " The Letter" (season 3, episode 20) * Marla ( Jane Leeves) – " The Virgin" (season 4, episode 10) * Sidra ( Teri Hatcher) – " The Implant" (season 4, episode 19) * Amy ( Anna Gunn) – " The Glasses" (season 5, episode 3) * Jody ( Jennifer Coolidge) – " The Masseuse" (season 5, episode 9) * Jane ( Jami Gertz) – " The Stall" (season 5, episode 12) * Meryl ( Courteney Cox) – " The Wife" (season 5, episode 17) * Margaret ( Marita Geraghty) - " The Big Salad" (season 6, episode 2) * Jeannie ( Janeane Garofalo) – " The Invitations" (season 7, episode 24) * Ellen ( Christine Taylor) – " The Van Buren Boys" (season 8, episode 14) * Jenna ( Kristin Davis) – " The Pothole" (season 8, episode 16) * Beth ( Debra Messing) – " The Yada Yada" (season 8, episode 19) * Valerie ( Lauren Graham) – " The Millennium" (season 8, episode 20) * Alex ( Melinda Clarke) – " The Muffin Tops" (season 8, episode 21) * Lanette ( Amanda Peet) – " The Summer of George" (season 8, episode 22) * Patty (
Lori Loughlin Lori Anne Loughlin (; born July 28, 1964) is an American actress. From 1988 to 1995, she played List of Full House and Fuller House characters#Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis, Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC ...
) – " The Serenity Now" (season 9, episode 3) * Sara (
Marcia Cross Marcia Anne Cross (born March 25, 1962) is an American actress. She acted in daytime soap operas such as ''The Edge of Night'', ''Another World (TV series), Another World'', and ''One Life to Live'' before moving to primetime television with a ...
) – " The Slicer" (season 9, episode 7)


Episodes

Compared to other family and group sitcoms of the era, ''Seinfeld'' stood out. The principal characters are not related by family or work-associated connections but remain distinctly close friends throughout the series. Many characters were based primarily on Seinfeld's and David's real-life acquaintances. Two prominent recurring characters were fictional depictions of actual well-known people: Jacopo Peterman of the J. Peterman catalog (based on John Peterman) and George Steinbrenner, owner of the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
. Many characters were introduced as new writers got involved with ''Seinfeld''. Other characters based on real people include the Soup Nazi and Jackie Chiles, who was based on Johnnie Cochran. Episodes have separate plot strands, but the characters' stories often intertwine at the end. The narratives reveal the creators' "consistent efforts to maintain the intimacy" among the small cast of characters. The show maintains a strong sense of continuity, as characters and plots from past episodes are often referenced or expanded on. Occasionally, story arcs span multiple episodes or entire seasons, such as Season 4, which revolves around the pilot pitch to NBC by Jerry and George. Another example is Jerry's girlfriend Vanessa, who appears in " The Stake Out" and with whom he ends the relationship when things do not work out in " The Stock Tip".
Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He is known for his dry wit, portrayals of awkward social situations, and brutally honest takes on everyday life. He has received two Prim ...
, the head writer and executive producer for the first seven seasons, was praised for keeping a close eye on minor details and ensuring the main characters' lives remained consistent and believable. '' Curb Your Enthusiasm'', David's later comedy series, also had an overarching plot for all but the first season. A major difference between ''Seinfeld'' and the sitcoms that preceded it is that the principal characters never learn from their mistakes. In effect, they are indifferent and even callous toward the outside world and sometimes one another. A mantra of the show's producers was "No hugging, no learning." ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
''s TV critic Ken Tucker has described them as "a group dynamic rooted in jealousy, rage, insecurity, despair, hopelessness, and a touching lack of faith in one's fellow human beings." This leads to very few happy endings, except at somebody else's expense. More often in every episode, situations resolve with characters getting a justly deserved comeuppance.


Seasons 1–3

The show premiered as '' The Seinfeld Chronicles'' on July 5, 1989. After it aired, a pickup by NBC seemed unlikely, and the show was offered to Fox, which declined to pick it up. Rick Ludwin, head of late night and special events for NBC, however, diverted money from his budget by canceling a Bob Hope television special, and the next four episodes were filmed. These episodes were highly rated as they followed summer re-runs of ''
Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American television sitcom, created by Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/C ...
'' on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m., and the series was finally picked up. At one point, NBC considered airing these episodes on Saturdays at 10:30 p.m. but gave the slot to a short-lived sitcom called '' FM'' instead. The series was renamed simply ''Seinfeld'' as a precautionary measure due to the failure of the short-lived 1990 ABC series with a similarly sounding title, ''The Marshall Chronicles''. After airing the remaining four episodes of its first season the summer of 1990, NBC ordered 13 more episodes. David believed that he and Seinfeld had no more stories to tell and advised Seinfeld to turn down the order, but Seinfeld agreed to the additional episodes. Season 2 was bumped off its scheduled premiere of January 16, 1991, due to the outbreak of the Persian Gulf War. It settled into a regular time slot on Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. and eventually flipped with veteran series '' Night Court'' to 9 p.m. TV critics championed ''Seinfeld'' in its early seasons, even as it was slow to cultivate a substantial audience. For the first three seasons, Jerry's stand-up comedy act would bookend at the beginning and end of each episode, even functioning as transitions during the show. A few episodes set a benchmark for later seasons. " The Deal" establishes Jerry and Elaine's relationship by setting rules about having sex while remaining friends. " The Parking Garage" was the first episode shot with no audience for the episode and, after " The Chinese Restaurant", to not show Jerry's apartment. " The Keys" contains a crossover to CBS show '' Murphy Brown'', marking the first such cooperation between rival networks. " The Busboy" introduces George, Kramer and Elaine as having their own storylines for the first time. Although Castle Rock Entertainment's Glenn Padnick thought Seinfeld was too generous, showcasing his co-stars' comedic talent became a trademark throughout the series. Larry Charles wrote an episode for Season 2, " The Bet," in which Elaine buys a gun from Kramer's friend. This episode was not filmed because the content was deemed unacceptable, and it was replaced by the episode " The Phone Message". " The Stranded," which aired during Season 3, was initially intended for Season 2. At the beginning of this episode, Jerry clears up the continuity error over George's real estate job.


Seasons 4–5

Season 4 marked the sitcom's entry into 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 ...
Top 30. It contains several of the most popular episodes, such as " The Bubble Boy", in which George and the bubble boy argue over ''
Trivial Pursuit ''Trivial Pursuit'' is a board game in which winning is determined by a player's ability to answer trivia and popular culture questions. Players move their pieces around a board, the squares they land on determining the subject of a question the ...
'', and " The Junior Mint" in which Jerry and Kramer accidentally fumble a mint in the operating room. This was the first season to use a story arc of Jerry and George creating their own sitcom, ''Jerry''. Also, at this time, the use of Jerry's stand-up act slowly declined, and the stand-up segment in the middle of ''Seinfeld'' episodes was cut. Much publicity followed the controversial episode " The Contest", an
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
-winning episode written by David, whose subject matter was considered inappropriate for prime-time network TV. To circumvent this taboo, the word "
masturbation Masturbation is a form of autoeroticism in which a person Sexual stimulation, sexually stimulates their own Sex organ, genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. Stimulation may involve the use of han ...
" was never used in the script, instead substituted for by a variety of oblique references. Midway through that season, ''Seinfeld'' was moved from its original 9:00 p.m. time slot on Wednesdays to 9:30 p.m. on Thursdays, following ''
Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American television sitcom, created by Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/C ...
'' again, which gave the show even more popularity. Ratings also sparked the move, as Tim Allen's sitcom '' Home Improvement'' on ABC had aired at the same time, and ''Home Improvement'' kept beating ''Seinfeld'' in the ratings. NBC moved the series after Ted Danson announced the end of ''Cheers'' and ''Seinfeld'' quickly surpassed the ratings of the 9:00 p.m. ''Cheers'' reruns that spring. The show won an Emmy Award for ''Outstanding Comedy Series'' in 1993, beating out its family-oriented, time-slot competitor ''Home Improvement'', which was only in its second season on rival network ABC. Season 5 was an even bigger ratings hit, consisting of popular episodes, such as " The Puffy Shirt", in which Jerry feels embarrassed wearing a "pirate" shirt on '' The Today Show'', " The Non-Fat Yogurt" featuring
Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney ...
, the Republican then-mayor-elect of New York, and "
The Opposite "The Opposite" is the 22nd and final episode of the fifth season of the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld''. It aired on May 19, 1994. This is the last episode Tom Cherones directed. Andy Ackerman took over as the primary director the following season and ...
" in which George, doing the opposite of what his instincts tell him he should do, lands a job with the New York Yankees and Elaine leaves "Pendant Publishing" because of a comedy of errors that led to its demise. Another story arc has George returning to live with his parents. Amid the story arc, Kramer creates and promotes his coffee table book. The show was again nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series, but lost to the ''Cheers'' spin-off '' Frasier'', then in its first season. ''Seinfeld'' was nominated for the same award every year for its entire run but, after its win at the 45th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1994, always lost to ''Frasier'', which went on to win a record 39 Emmy Awards in its 11-season run.


Seasons 6–7

In Season 6, Andy Ackerman replaced Tom Cherones as director of the show. The series remained well regarded and produced some of its most famous episodes, such as " The Beard", in which Jerry is put through a lie detector test to make him admit that he watched '' Melrose Place''; " The Switch", in which Kramer's mom, Babs, reveals that his first name is Cosmo; and " The Understudy", in which Elaine meets J. Peterman for the first time. Story arcs used in this season were Elaine working as a personal assistant to her eccentric boss Justin Pitt and George's parents' temporary separation. This was the first season in which ''Seinfeld'' reached No. 1 in the Nielsen Ratings. The use of Jerry's stand-up act declined, and the end stand-up segment no longer appeared because the storylines for all four characters grew denser. In Season 7, a story arc involved George getting engaged to his ex-girlfriend, Susan Ross, after the pilot ''Jerry'' proved unsuccessful. In it, George spends most of the season regretting and trying to get out of the engagement. Along with the regular half-hour episodes, two notable one-hour episodes were " The Cadillac", in which George plans to date award-winning actress Marisa Tomei, and "
The Bottle Deposit "The Bottle Deposit" is a two-part episode, the 131st and 132nd episodes, and 21st and 22nd episodes of the List of Seinfeld episodes, seventh season, of the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld'', first aired on May 2, 1996. It was originally an hour-long epi ...
," with Elaine and Sue Ellen Mischke participating in a bidding war to buy JFK's golf clubs in an auction.


Seasons 8–9

''Seinfeld''s final two seasons were considered distinct from the earlier seasons. Most noticeably, David left the writing crew (but returned to write " The Finale" in 1998), resulting in Seinfeld taking over David's duties as showrunner, and, under the direction of a new writing staff, ''Seinfeld'' became a faster-paced show. The show no longer contained extracts of Jerry performing stand-up comedy—Jerry had no time or energy for this with his new responsibilities—and storylines occasionally delved into fantasy and broad humor. For example, in " The Bizarro Jerry", Elaine is torn between exact opposites of her friends and Jerry dates a woman who has the now-famous "man hands". Some notable episodes from Season 8 include " The Little Kicks", showing Elaine's horrible dancing, and " The Chicken Roaster", which portrays the '' Kenny Rogers Roasters'' chicken restaurant, which opened during that time. A story arc in this season involves Peterman going to
Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
in " The Foundation" until he recovered from a nervous breakdown in " The Money", followed by Elaine writing Peterman's biography in " The Van Buren Boys", which leads to Kramer's parody of Kenny Kramer's Reality Tour seen in " The Muffin Tops". The final season included episodes like " The Merv Griffin Show", in which Kramer converts his apartment into a talk-show studio and plays the character of talk-show host, " The Betrayal" that presents in reverse chronological order what happened to Sue Ellen's wedding in India, and " The Frogger" in which George pushes a '' Frogger'' machine across the street, mimicking the action of the game itself. The last season included a story arc in which Elaine has an on/off relationship with Puddy. Despite the enormous popularity and willingness of the cast to return for a tenth season, Seinfeld decided to end the show after Season 9, believing he would thereby be able to ensure the show would maintain its quality and go out on top. NBC offered Seinfeld $110 million—a record $5 million an episode for a 22-episode tenth season—but he declined. A major controversy caused in the ninth season was the accidental burning of a Puerto Rican flag by Kramer in " The Puerto Rican Day". This scene caused a furor among Puerto Ricans, and as a result, NBC showed this episode only once. Seinfeld defused the protestors by not letting this episode continue in syndication, as revealed in "Inside Look" on DVD. However, the episode would be added to the syndicated rerun package several years later uncut.


Series finale

After nine years on the air, NBC and Seinfeld announced on December 25, 1997, that the series would end production the following spring in 1998. The announcement made the front page of the major New York newspapers, including ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. Seinfeld was featured on the cover of ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine's first issue of 1998. The series ended with a 75-minute episode (cut to 60 minutes in syndication, in two parts) written by co-creator and ex-executive producer Larry David, which aired on May 14, 1998. Before the finale, a 45-minute retrospective clip show, " The Chronicle", was aired. The retrospective was expanded to an hour after the original airing and aired again on NBC as an hour-long episode, and has since aired in syndication. It was the first episode since the finale of season 7, " The Invitations", to feature opening and closing stand-up comedy acts by Seinfeld. The finale was filmed before an audience of NBC executives and friends of the show. The press and public were shut out of the taping to keep its plot secret; those who attended the shoot of the final episode were required to sign written "vows of silence". The secrecy only seemed to increase speculation about how the series would end. The episode's producers gave false information to the media, spreading a rumor about Newman ending up in the hospital and Jerry and Elaine sitting in a chapel, presumably to marry. The final episode enjoyed a historic audience, estimated at 76.3 million viewers (58% of all viewers that night) making it the fourth-most watched regular series finale in U.S. TV history, behind '' M*A*S*H'', ''Cheers'' and '' The Fugitive''. However, the finale received mixed reviews from critics and fans of the show. The finale poked fun at the many rumors that were circulating, seeming to move into multiple supposed plots before settling on its actual storyline—a lengthy trial where the gang is prosecuted for violating a " Duty to Rescue" law and sentenced to prison terms. According to ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' magazine, Seinfeld's earnings from the show in 1998 came to US$267 million, including syndication earnings. He refused NBC's offer of $5 million per episode, or over $100 million total, to continue into a tenth season. The offer NBC made to Seinfeld was over three times higher per episode than anyone on TV had ever been offered before. Seinfeld told the network that he was not married nor had children, and wished to focus on his personal life. As reported in July 2007, he was the second-highest earner in the TV industry, earning at the time $60 million a year. The episode became the first to command over $1 million a minute for advertising—a mark previously attained only by the
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
.


Reception and legacy

Elizabeth Magnotta and Alexandra Strohl analyze the success of ''Seinfeld'' with recourse to the incongruity theory of humor: "The Incongruity Theory claims that humor is created out of a violation of an expectation. For humor to result from this unexpected result, the event must have an appropriate emotional climate, the setting, characters, prior discourse, relationships of the characters, and the topic." Specifically, Magnotta and Strohl focus on " The Marine Biologist", where George is embroiled in yet another lie, and on " The Red Dot," where George tries to save a few dollars at Elaine's expense by giving her a marked-down cashmere sweater. In "Translating ''Seinfeld''", Jennifer Armstrong observes that ''Seinfeld'' is less famous among non-English speakers as its unique style of humor is "too cultural and word-based to make for easy translation". Carol Iannone sums up the legacy of this American hit in her ''Modern Age'' article "''Seinfeld'': The Politically Incorrect Comedy" when she says, "It may be the first situation comedy truly to achieve the status of art." Nod Miller, of the University of East London, has discussed the self-referential qualities of the show: William Irwin has edited an anthology of scholarly essays on philosophy in ''Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything and Nothing''. Some entries include "The Jerry Problem and the Socratic Problem", "George's Failed Quest for
Happiness Happiness is a complex and multifaceted emotion that encompasses a range of positive feelings, from contentment to intense joy. It is often associated with positive life experiences, such as achieving goals, spending time with loved ones, ...
: An Aristotelian Analysis", "Elaine's Moral Character", "Kramer the 'Seducer, "Making Something Out of Nothing: Seinfeld, Sophistry and the Tao", "Seinfeld,
Subjectivity The distinction between subjectivity and objectivity is a basic idea of philosophy, particularly epistemology and metaphysics. Various understandings of this distinction have evolved through the work of countless philosophers over centuries. One b ...
, and Sartre", "Mr. Peterman, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Me" and "Minimally Decent Samaritans and Uncommon Law".


U.S. television ratings


Awards and honors

''Seinfeld'' has received awards and nominations in various categories throughout the mid-1990s. It was awarded the
Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...
for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1993,
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...
for Best TV Series (Comedy) in 1994, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 1995, 1997 and 1998. Apart from these, the show was also nominated for an Emmy award from 1992 to 1998 for Outstanding Comedy Series, Golden Globe award from 1994 to 1998 for Best TV-Series (Comedy), and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series from 1995 to 1998. The show even received the
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...
in 1993. ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
'' named it the greatest TV show of all time in 2002, and in 2013, the magazine ranked it as the second-greatest TV show. A 2015 ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' survey of 2,800 actors, producers, directors, and other industry people named ''Seinfeld'' as their #5 favorite show. In 2022, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' ranked ''Seinfeld'' as the sixth-greatest TV show of all time. In 2023, '' Variety'' ranked ''Seinfeld'' as the eighth-greatest TV show of all time.


Distribution

Free streaming service
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
has been running ''Seinfeld'' in its original 4:3 format since February 2020. On April 29, 2015, it was officially announced, during
Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...
's upfronts presentation in New York, that all nine seasons of ''Seinfeld'' would
stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...
on the platform starting in June 2015. The deal was for around $130 million to $180 million. On May 20, 2015, Hulu announced that every episode would be available starting June 24, 2015. Hulu's streaming rights for the series expired on June 23, 2021. In January 2017,
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
acquired the UK rights to all seasons of ''Seinfeld'' for its
Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...
streaming service. On November 8, 2016, the Australian streaming service Stan announced via
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
that later in the week all episodes would be available to stream for the first time in Australia. All episodes were available from November 11, 2016, with the remastered versions of all episodes on the service featuring HD and Widescreen enhancements. The widescreen offered was cropped from the original 4:3 format negatives, thus resulting in better visual quality than the previously available DVD version, however, the top and bottom portions of the frame were cut out to achieve the widescreen aspect ratio. In April 2020, all seasons of ''Seinfeld'' were also made available on-demand via pay television service
Foxtel NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...
, as well as its internet-based alternative Foxtel Now. In September 2019,
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
and Sony Pictures announced that Netflix had acquired the exclusive global streaming rights for ''Seinfeld'', starting on October 1, 2021, superseding the above Hulu and Amazon rights. As of 2023, Netflix's version of ''Seinfeld'' is available in 4K resolution. The transition was criticized as the show, initially displayed in 4:3 aspect ratio, had been converted to 16:9, resulting in some gags getting cropped, similarly to how ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' was initially rendered on
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
. Netflix has yet to comment on this situation.


Home media releases

The hour-long, two-part
clip show A clip show is an episode of a Television program, television series that consists primarily of excerpts from previous episodes. Most clip shows include a frame story in which cast members recall events from past installments of the show, depicte ...
episode " The Highlights of 100" became the first ''Seinfeld'' episode available on home video when it was released on VHS in 1995 by food company
General Mills General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...
. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment) released all nine seasons of ''Seinfeld'' on DVD in Regions 1, 2 and 4 between 2004 and 2007. On November 6, 2007, ''Seinfeld: The Complete Series'' was released on DVD. The complete series box set includes a 2007 "roundtable" reunion of the four main cast members and Larry David; only highlights of this were also included in the Season 9 set. The first complete series box set in Australia (Region 4) was released on October 24, 2007. The second boxset was released on December 2, 2008, and was a Collectible Fridge design packaging. On August 5, 2009, another Limited-Edition boxset was released, similar to the first boxset but does not include the book and the packaging was slightly different. On November 23, 2011, an additional Limited-Edition boxset was released. On November 14, 2018, a ''Festivus Celebration Edition'' was released which contained napkins and cups, playing cards and thumb wrestle gadgets. On August 12, 2020, yet another ''Complete Series'' boxset was released. The entire series was released on
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
(in the cropped 16:9 aspect ratio) and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray (in the original 4:3 aspect ratio) on December 17, 2024.


Syndication

According to Barry Meyer, chairman of Warner Bros. Entertainment (parent company of Castle Rock Entertainment), ''Seinfeld'' made $2.7 billion through June 2010 through off-network syndication and cable syndication. the show had made an estimated $4.06 billion in syndication. Steve Bannon, who invested in the show, later said, "We calculated what it would get us if it made it to syndication. We were wrong by a factor of five". In September 2019, it was announced that Viacom (now
Paramount Global Paramount Global (Trade name, d/b/a Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and Headquarters, headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, ...
) had acquired cable syndication rights to the series from TBS, with it airing on
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
beginning in October 2021,
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from May 31, 2022, until November 12, 2022, and TV Land since February 11, 2023.


High-definition versions

There are two high-definition versions of ''Seinfeld''. The first is that of the network television (non-syndicated) versions in the original aspect ratio of 4:3 that were downscaled for the DVD releases. Clips from this high-definition version in its upscale were seen on NBC during ''The Seinfeld Story'' special. Syndicated broadcast stations and the cable networks TBS and
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
(and also Fox) began airing the syndicated version of ''Seinfeld'' in HD. Unlike the version used for the DVD, Sony Pictures cropped the top and bottom parts of the frame while restoring previously cropped images on the sides from the 35mm film source to use the entire 16:9 frame.


After ''Seinfeld''


Another scene

On the November 1, 2007, episode of '' The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'', Jerry Seinfeld mentioned the possibility of shooting one last scene after the characters leave jail. He mentioned that he was too busy to do it at the time, but did not announce what the scene would entail, as its production is not a certainty. In a commentary from the final season DVD, Seinfeld outlines that he and Jason Alexander spoke about this scene being in Monk's Cafe, with George saying "That was brutal" about the foursome's stint in prison. On an episode of ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' that Jerry Seinfeld hosted on October 2, 1999, a sketch was produced that showed what life was like for Jerry behind bars after being transferred to the fictional prison portrayed on the
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
series '' Oz''. The roughly four-minute sketch shows the opening credits for the HBO series with clips of Jerry mixed in doing various activities around the prison. The sketch continues and mixes in different storylines from both ''Oz'' and ''Seinfeld'' and has Jerry interacting with various characters from the show in his typical quick-witted, sarcastic way.


The ''Seinfeld'' "curse"

Louis-Dreyfus, Alexander, and Richards have all tried to launch new sitcoms as title-role characters. Almost every show was canceled quickly, usually within the first season. This gave rise to the term ''Seinfeld curse'': the failure of a sitcom starring one of the three, despite the conventional wisdom that each person's ''Seinfeld'' popularity should almost guarantee a strong, built-in audience for the actor's new show. Shows specifically cited regarding the ''Seinfeld curse'' are Julia Louis-Dreyfus's '' Watching Ellie'', Jason Alexander's '' Bob Patterson'' and '' Listen Up'', and Michael Richards' '' The Michael Richards Show''. This phenomenon was mentioned throughout the second season of
Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He is known for his dry wit, portrayals of awkward social situations, and brutally honest takes on everyday life. He has received two Prim ...
's HBO program '' Curb Your Enthusiasm'', which aired in 2001. In real life, David has repeatedly dismissed the idea of a curse, saying, "It's so completely idiotic. It's very hard to have a successful sitcom." The success of Louis-Dreyfus in the 2006–2010 CBS sitcom '' The New Adventures of Old Christine'', which included winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2006, led many to believe that she had broken the curse. In her acceptance speech, Louis-Dreyfus held up her award and exclaimed, "I'm not somebody who really believes in curses, but curse this, baby!" The show produced enough episodes to air in
rerun A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. The two types of reruns are those that occur during a hiatus and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Variations In the United Kingdom, the word "repe ...
s in syndication for several years, something the other shows did not achieve. The ''Saturday Night Live'' episode hosted by Louis-Dreyfus made references to the curse. Nevertheless, the series' ratings declined soon after, and it was canceled after the fifth season. She went on to win six further Emmys (for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series) for her acclaimed performance as Vice President Selina Meyer in the HBO comedy series '' Veep''.


''Curb Your Enthusiasm''

Early in March 2009, it was announced that the ''Seinfeld'' cast would reunite for season seven of '' Curb Your Enthusiasm''. The cast first appeared in the third episode of the season, all playing fictional versions of themselves. The season-long story is that Larry David tries to initiate a ''Seinfeld'' reunion show as a ploy to win back his ex-wife, Cheryl. Along with the four main characters, some ''Seinfeld'' supporting actors like Wayne Knight, Estelle Harris and Steve Hytner appeared in the ninth episode at a table read for the reunion show. Although much dialogue in ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is improvised, the plot was scripted, and the ''Seinfeld'' special that aired within the show was scripted and directed by ''Seinfeld'' regular Andy Ackerman, making this the first time since ''Seinfeld'' went off the air that the central cast appeared together in a scripted show.


''Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee''

Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, and Wayne Knight, playing their respective ''Seinfeld'' characters, appeared in a spot presented during halftime of Super Bowl XLVIII on February 2, 2014. Fox came up with the idea of doing such a spot, due in part to the Super Bowl's location being New York City adjacent that year. An uncut version appeared on Crackle.com immediately afterward, as an episode of '' Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee'' titled "The Over-Cheer," establishing Seinfeld's character on the series as an older version of his ''Seinfeld'' character. Although the spot was used to advertise Seinfeld's web series, it was not considered a commercial, as Sony, which produces the series, did not pay for it. While Seinfeld indicated that the webisode would probably be the last cast reunion, saying, "I have a feeling you've seen the final coda on that very unique experience," since then, Michael Richards and Julia Louis-Dreyfus have also appeared in episodes.


Notes


References


General references

* Mirzoeff, Nicholas. "Seinfeld". British Film Institute, TV Classics. 2007. . * * Dawson, Ryan (2006).
"Seinfeld: a show about something"
'
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
. * . * Gantz, Katherine. ''"Not That There's Anything Wrong with That": Reading the Queer in Seinfeld''. In Calvin Thomas (Ed.). ''Straight with a Twist: Queer Theory and the Subject of Heterosexuality''. Champaign. Illinois:
University of Illinois Press The University of Illinois Press (UIP) is an American university press and is part of the University of Illinois System. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, thirty-three scholarly journals, and several electroni ...
. . * . * Murphy, Noah. ''Seinfeld: A Beginner's Guide''. Brisbane: Penguin Books. 2011. * . * Weaver, D.T. & Oliver, M.B. (2000) Summary of the paper
"Television Programs and Advertising: Measuring the Effectiveness of Product Placement Within Seinfeld."


External links

* * * *
''Seinfeld'' Emmys


{{Authority control * 1980s American multi-camera sitcoms 1990s American multi-camera sitcoms 1980s American satirical television series 1990s American satirical television series 1989 American television series debuts 1998 American television series endings 1980s American black comedy television series 1990s American black comedy television series Best Musical or Comedy Series Golden Globe winners Culture of New York City American English-language television shows GLAAD Media Award–winning shows Jewish comedy and humor Jewish American television series Nielsen ratings winners Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners Peabody Award–winning television programs Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series winners Primetime Emmy Award–winning television series Television series about show business Television series by Castle Rock Entertainment Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows filmed in Los Angeles Television shows set in Manhattan Television series created by Larry David Television series created by Jerry Seinfeld Postmodern works NBC sitcoms