10 interesting things about Seinfeld ahead of Netflix premiere in October 2021

The show about nothing is back! All episodes of Seinfeld will debut in 4K resolution on Netflix on October 1. The show was previously streamed on Hulu but Netflix acquired the streaming rights after a hard-fought bidding war, giving the popular nineties sitcom a new home.

Seinfeld originally aired on NBC from 1989 to 1998 over nine seasons and 180 episodes. The show sees comedian Jerry Seinfeld playing a fictionalized version of himself.

Seinfeld mostly takes place in an apartment building in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The show focuses on the personal life of its protagonist with his three friends George Costanza (Jason Alexander), former girlfriend Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and neighbor Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards).

Widely regarded as one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, Seinfeld’s popularity and the devout fanbase are on par with Friends and The Office.

Before Seinfeld drops on Netflix, take a look at 10 interesting things about the show

1) Jerry Seinfeld turned down a $110 million offer for the tenth season

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld turned down NBC’s $5 million-per-episode offer to return for a tenth season. No amount of money could have persuaded Jerry as he and co-creator Larry David had already decided the show needed to end with Season 9.

2) Jackie Chiles spinoff was in the works at NBC

Seinfeld character Jackie Chiles was a parody of O.J. Simpson’s lawyer Johnnie Cochran. Played by Phil Morris, Jackie Chiles was well received by viewers, and there were plans for a spinoff which were ultimately scrapped.

3) Jerry Seinfeld’s favorite episode

Jerry Seinfeld has always shied away from revealing his favorite episodes. But in a Reddit AMA session, he finally came clean and declared Season 7, Episode 11, “The Rye” and Season 8, Episode 16, “The Pothole” as his favorites.

4) Jerry Seinfeld’s favorite character was Newman

During the above-mentioned Reddit AMA, Seinfeld also revealed his favorite supporting character from the show. Surprisingly, it turned out to be Kramer’s friend and the main antagonist of the show, Newman.

5) Dumb and Dumber directors wrote an episode

Peter and Bobby Farrelly, the directors of Dumb and Dumber, wrote the episode “The V*rgin” in Seinfeld Season 4.

6) The original female lead was a waitress

Julia Louis-Dreyfus didn’t appear in the pilot episode. Instead, Lee Garlington played a coffee shop waitress named Claire. The makers didn’t like the character and it was rewritten with Louis-Dreyfus playing Elaine.

7) Jerry Seinfeld’s least favorite episode

On an episode of Watch What Happens: Live, Jerry Seinfeld revealed that his least favorite episode from the show was Season 3, Episode 11, “The Alternate Side”.

8) The "real" George Constanza sued Seinfeld creators

While most people think the George Costanza character is based on Larry David, it actually isn’t. Jerry’s former friend Mike Costanza sued the creators and NBC for $100 million, arguing the series violated his privacy. The lawsuit was dismissed, and the makers have always been vocal about Larry David being the inspiration for George Costanza. But there is some credibility to Mike's claims.

9) Seinfeld is not “a show about nothing”

Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David at U.S. Open Day Ten (Image via Getty)

Seinfeld famously earned the moniker “a show about nothing” due to its focus on the subtleties of daily life. But as per the creators, the sitcom was originally about how a comedian gets his material.

10) No hugging, No learning

Larry David had a strict “no hugging, no learning” policy that the cast and crew had to abide by. David didn’t want any of the characters to learn from their mistakes or be sentimental.