Seinfeld

This article is about the American television sitcom. For other uses, see Seinfeld (disambiguation).

Seinfeld
GenreSitcom
Slice of life
Cringe comedy
Dark comedy
Created by
ShowrunnerLarry David (seasons 1–7)
Directed by
Starring
Theme music composerJonathan Wolff
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons9
No. of episodes180 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time22–24 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseJuly 5, 1989 (1989-07-05) –
May 14, 1998 (1998-05-14)
Related
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Seinfeld (/ˈsaɪnfɛld/ SYNE-feld) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David 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 stars Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself and focuses on his personal life with three of his friends: best friend George Costanza (Jason Alexander), former girlfriend Elaine Benes (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's Upper West Side in New York City. It has been described as "a show about nothing", often focusing on the minutiae of daily life.[1] Interspersed in all episodes of the first seven seasons are moments of stand-up comedy 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.[2] The series was produced by West-Shapiro Productions and Castle Rock Entertainment and distributed by Columbia Pictures Television.[nb 1] It was largely written by David and Seinfeld and scriptwriters. A favorite among critics, the series led the Nielsen ratings 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 and The Andy Griffith Show—finished their runs at the top of the ratings.[3]

Seinfeld is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential shows of all time. It has been ranked among television's best shows in publications such as Entertainment Weekly,[4] Rolling Stone,[5] and TV Guide.[6][7] Its most renowned episodes include "The Chinese Restaurant", "The Soup Nazi", "The Parking Garage",[8] "The Marine Biologist", and "The Contest".[9] In 2013, the Writers Guild of America voted it the second best-written TV series of all time (second to The Sopranos).[10] E! named it the "Number 1 reason [why] the '90s ruled".[11] Quotes from numerous episodes have become catchphrases in popular culture.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Armstrong, Jennifer (2016). Seinfeldia. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 7–8. ISBN 978-1-4767-5610-3.
  3. ^ Dostis, Melanie (October 15, 2015). "Looking back at 'I Love Lucy' 64 years later". Daily News. New York. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  4. ^ "TV: 10 All-Time Greatest". Entertainment Weekly. June 27, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  5. ^ Stuever, Hank (September 28, 2016). "Rolling Stone has come up with the 100 greatest TV shows of all time. My list was a little different". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  6. ^ Cosgrove-Mather, Bootie (April 26, 2002). "TV Guide Names Top 50 Shows". CBS News. Associated Press. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  7. ^ Fretts, Bruce; Roush, Matt. "The Greatest Shows on Earth". TV Guide Magazine. Vol. 61, no. 3194–3195. pp. 16–19.
  8. ^ "Special Collector's Issue: 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time". TV Guide. No. June 28 – July 4. 1997.
  9. ^ "TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time and over 6.5 billion different people have watched an episode". TV Guide; June 15, 2009; pp. 34–49.
  10. ^ "101 Best Written TV Series". www.wga.org.
  11. ^ "Reasons the '90s Ruled 101 – 81" Archived September 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, TV.com


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