The Beauty of Seinfeld

You may know Jerry Seinfeld from The Bee Movie or one of his stand-up comedy shows, but most know him from the beloved sitcom Seinfeld. Everyone has at least heard of the show. You have possibly heard your parents talking about it, or maybe you have seen it on TV. I was especially intrigued with Seinfeld, a show revered by an entire generation but seemingly forgotten by another. I set out to see if Seinfeld deserved to be “forgotten” by the younger generation.

‘90s shows like Friends and That ‘70s Show are still very popular, especially amongst the younger generation. In 2019, Friends was the second most-streamed show on Netflix, amassing an astounding 36.2 billion minutes, which was about 4% of Netflix’s total streaming for the year. Comparatively, Seinfeld gained less than 1% of Hulu’s viewership and did not crack the top ten most streamed shows on Hulu. Friends overtaking Seinfeld in popularity is a bit surprising to some, considering that Seinfeld was a more popular show throughout the ‘90s. When it aired in 1998, the finale episode for Seinfeld had 76.3 million viewers, while Friends only garnered 52.5 million viewers with its finale in 2004. The dated humor in Seinfeld could be the reason for its waning popularity in the past few years. It could also be because the show centers on people in their thirties and forties, or possibly because, as George Costanza put it, it’s “a show about nothing.” It’s true; most young adults today want to watch funny shows with relatable, young characters like themselves.

I was highly interested in this show because of its deeply positive reputation, so I decided to watch it. I went into this show expecting your typical sitcom, but boy- was I wrong. Seinfeld is different from any sitcom I have ever seen (and I have seen a lot). The show is about mundane, everyday life, yet it manages to be incredibly entertaining. One thing I was surprised about when I first started watching was that the show did not follow the typical sitcom formula of going from problem to solution. Often Seinfeld episodes do not have much of a conclusion at all, which is very different from many other sitcoms of the time. Seinfeld does a fantastic job of calling back to past episodes, and many times will have recurring jokes from popular episodes. This creativity really rewards long-time viewers as those who have seen more of the show will get more out of the joke. But the thing that really makes Seinfeld a great show is the unique humor and boldness of Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, and others who contributed to the show, coupled with the performances of the main actors. While Seinfeld may not be at the height of its popularity now, its genius and creativity still hold true to this day, many popular shows like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Curb Your Enthusiasm are clearly inspired by the show.