Seinfeld

Synopsis

Seinfeld is a fictional series that follows the lives of a group of friends living in New York. At its center is the character Jerry Seinfeld, who is a stand-up comedian, played by stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld. He lives in an apartment opposite eccentric neighbor Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards) and has frequent visits from his friends George Costanza (Jason Alexander) and Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who is also his ex-girlfriend. The series follows their daily activities but has been referred to as, and once claimed to be, a “show about nothing.”

Audience, Acclaim, and Cultural Commentary

The series was acclaimed from the outset, nominated for multiple Emmy Awards every year of its production and nominated for Golden Globes each year from 1993 to 1998. The global audience for Seinfeld is very hard to ascertain, as its continued airings as a syndicated show on several networks ensure that it is rarely off the screen in many countries. DVD sales have been similarly successful worldwide.

Seinfeld draws on an archetype of the liberal New York Jewish lifestyle established by Woody Allen, among others. The character of George Costanza, a neurotic man unable to form and maintain a relationship, is reportedly based on Woody Allen.

Much of the commentary about Seinfeld focuses on the self-referential qualities of the text; that is, the way the text draws attention to its own artifice and construction as a media text. For example, in the season 4, episode 3, “The Pitch,” Jerry is asked by NBC executives to develop an idea for a TV series. Together, he and George develop an idea for a show based on “nothing,” in which a group of four friends like themselves do very little. Their idea, and their interaction with NBC, returns in season 4, episode 6, “The Watch,” and season 4, episode 10. “The Virgin.” In the final show, “The Finale” (season 9, episode 22), NBC eventually greenlights the idea, but an incident that occurs while Jerry and his friends are traveling to a meeting with the executive team means that the show is never given the go-ahead. These self-referential qualities would later become a characteristic trait of Larry David's work, such as Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000–), in which Larry David stars as Larry David, the writer who created Seinfeld.

Transcript

• ...enjoy doing the show. Don’t take it that way.
• The one we’re doing now, that’s always our favorite.
• Actually, we’re right in the midst of billing the show, so we’re probably going, ‘What?’
• [Inaudible]
• Last question, please.
• [Inaudible] So how did it come about [inaudible]?
• Well, it’s the people that I introduce, the writers; that’s their job, and it’s not an easy job. I mean, you have four very funny people, and you say, ‘Well, what are you going to do with them?’ You can do anything you want, but it’s got to be funny and they’ve all got to be involved with each other. So it’s very challenging. There’s no workplace and there’s no family on this show. So it all rides on the strength of the ideas.
• Is there any issue that’s taboo?
• Is there any issue that’s taboo? Yes: whatever isn’t funny.
• Eight years, a show about nothing. Is it hard to empathize with situations? Have you gone through all the [inaudible] go-throughable with this four?
• No, it’s not really, because as I said onstage, it’s a show about anything. And we have so many wonderful characters. And besides the four people that you think of as the show, there’s also another cast outside, of Newman and Jerry Stiller and my parents and George’s parents, and it goes on and on, and Bania and the Soup Nazi and the Bizzaro World; and we just keep expanding. One more question? Alright, that’s it. Thank you very much.
• Thank you.

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