Seinfeld
A sitcom about nothing, focusing on daily minutiae.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Seinfeld is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, spanning nine seasons and 180 episodes. Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld created the show, which stars Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself. The ensemble cast also includes his best friend George Costanza (Jason Alexander), ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and eccentric neighbor Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards). The action mostly takes place in and around Jerry’s apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Critics often call it “a show about nothing” because it zeroes in on the trivial details of everyday life. Stand-up comedy routines from the fictional Jerry Seinfeld appear in many episodes, often tied to the plot, but not in every episode of the first seven seasons.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Sitcom
- Creator
- Larry David · Jerry Seinfeld
- Showrunner
- Larry David (seasons 1–7) / Jerry Seinfeld (season 8–9)
- Director
- Tom Cherones (seasons 1–5) · Andy Ackerman (seasons 6–9) · Various (seasons 1, 3, 6 & 8)
- Starring
- Jerry Seinfeld · Julia Louis-Dreyfus · Michael Richards · Jason Alexander
- Theme Music Composer
- Jonathan Wolff
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Num Seasons
- 9
- Num Episodes
- 180
- List Episodes
- List of Seinfeld episodes
- Executive Producer
- Larry David (1990–1996) · George Shapiro · Howard West · Andrew Scheinman · (1991–1993) · Jerry Seinfeld (1996–1998) · Alec Berg (1997–1998) · Jeff Schaffer (1997–1998)
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Seinfeld began as a 23-minute pilot titled 'The Seinfeld Chronicles,' created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, developed by NBC executive Rick Ludwin, and produced by Castle Rock Entertainment. The pilot was filmed at Stage 8 of Desilu Cahuenga studios, the same studio where The Dick Van Dyke Show was filmed. It was first screened to a group of two dozen NBC executives in Burbank, California, in early 1989. Brandon Tartikoff characterized it as 'Too New York, too Jewish,' and test audiences were harsh, with an NBC research memo summarizing the pilot's performance as 'weak.' Despite this, the pilot aired on July 5, 1989, and finished second in its time slot. Ludwin canceled one of the Bob Hope specials to order four more episodes, forming the first season.
Reader's Guide
Seinfeld is universally regarded as one of the greatest and most influential American shows of all time. It led the Nielsen ratings in Seasons 6 and 9 and finished among the top two every year from 1994 to 1998. Only two other shows—I Love Lucy and The Andy Griffith Show—finished their runs at the top of the ratings. Its most renowned episodes include 'The Chinese Restaurant,' 'The Soup Nazi,' 'The Parking Garage,' 'The Marine Biologist,' 'The Contest,' and 'The Strike,' which introduced the December 23rd holiday of Festivus. Quotes from numerous episodes have become catchphrases in popular culture. The series was produced by West/Shapiro Productions and Castle Rock Entertainment and is distributed in syndication by Sony Pictures Television.
Did You Know?
- The series introduced the December 23rd holiday of Festivus in the episode 'The Strike'.
- The show's exterior shot for Jerry's New York apartment building was actually located at 757 S New Hampshire Avenue, Los Angeles.
- The pilot was originally titled 'The Seinfeld Chronicles'.
More in Nielsen ratings winners 1-24
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