![\"SEINFELD](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SEI_257820574-5c74.jpg\")
\n\t\tWhat\u2019s the deal with the greatest TV show ever? (Picture: NBC Universal, Inc.)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tWhat\u2019s the deal with the greatest TV show ever? (Picture: NBC Universal, Inc.)<\/p>\n
If a friend asked you, \u2018What\u2019s the greatest TV show ever made about?\u2019 how would you answer them?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Would you explain how it\u2019s about a brutal crime boss going to therapy? Perhaps you\u2019d say it follows a chemistry teacher who starts cooking meth to provide for his family?<\/p>\n
Maybe you\u2019d tell them it\u2019s about a bunch of wannabe influencers seeking a brand deal\u2026 I mean, love in a villa?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whatever show you think is the best of the best, though I very much doubt you\u2019d tell them it\u2019s about nothing.<\/p>\n
And yet, 36 years ago today, a show \u2018about nothing\u2019 premiered on NBC and changed television forever.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\tGet personalised updates on all things Netflix\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro\u2019s TV Newsletter.<\/p>\n
Sign up to our newsletter<\/a> and then select your show in the link we\u2019ll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you.<\/p>\n I\u2019m talking, of course, about Seinfeld, one of the most influential and important series ever made.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t If you never watched it, then \u2018NO SOUP FOR YOU! Okay, that\u2019s not fair. Allow me to explain the series\u2019 premise because it\u2019s not really about \u2018nothing\u2019.<\/p>\n The show follows a fictionalised version of Jerry Seinfeld <\/a>(Jerry Seinfeld) and follows him and his friends \u2013 George Costanza (Jason Alexander), Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards) as they navigate life in New York City.<\/p>\n Now, there are ongoing plots like Jerry getting his own TV show (yes, it gets very meta), and George\u2019s terrible love life, but for the most part, the show focuses on the little things in life.<\/p>\n This meant you got entire episodes focused on things like finding a car in a multi-storey car park, characters\u2019 sex lives, or, most famously, trying to get some soup.<\/p>\n \t\t \t\t\t\tThe 10 best Seinfeld episodes (according to IMDb) \t\t\t<\/p>\n Looking to get started with Seinfeld? Why not start here\u2026 9. The Hamptons (Season 5, Episode 2)<\/strong> \u2013 Jerry and his pals visit a friend in The Hamptons, and it goes as well as you\u2019d expect. <\/p>\n 8. The Betrayal (Season 9, Episode 8) <\/strong>\u2013 Jerry sleeps with a woman George is trying to date.<\/p>\n 7. The Merv Griffin Show (Season 9, Episode 6)<\/strong> \u2013 Kramer decides to recreate the Merv Griffin Show in his apartment. 5.The Marine Biologist (Season 5, Episode 14)<\/strong> \u2013 George starts dating a woman who\u2019s convinced he\u2019s a marine biologist. <\/p>\n 4. The Outing (Season 4, Episode 17)<\/strong> \u2013 Elaine convinces a journalist that Jerry and George are dating. <\/p>\n 3. The Opposite (Season 5, Episode 21)<\/strong> \u2013 George does the exact opposite of what he\u2019d normally do.<\/p>\n 2. The Soup Nazi (Season 7, Episode 6)<\/strong> \u2013 The gang try and get some soup.<\/p>\n 1. The Contest (Season 4, Episode 11)<\/strong> \u2013 Jerry and friends make a competition out of self-control. <\/p>\n These plots may sound mundane, but they were the secret to the show\u2019s success because they made the characters and their world incredibly relatable.\u00a0<\/p>\n Creators Larry David <\/a>and Jerry Seinfeld would then use this relatable world to make absolutely hilarious jokes and gags about the terribly recognisable gaffes and faux pas we all make on a daily basis.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a way, then, Seinfeld wasn\u2019t a show about nothing; it was a show about everything and everyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n Unsurprisingly, considering the brilliance of its premise, cast, and writing, Seinfeld was a huge hit, running for nine seasons from 1989 to 1998 and garnering legions of fans across the globe and turning Jerry into a household name.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Indeed, the series\u2019 two-part finale was watched by 76.3 million people across America\u00a0\u2013 making it the fourth-most watched series finale in US history.<\/p>\n \t\t \t\t However, beyond the series\u2019 commercial and critical success, it had a major influence on the way TV was made.<\/p>\n Arguably, the series\u2019 biggest influence is that it opened the door to TV shows about unlikable characters.\u00a0<\/p>\n Without Seinfeld, we definitely wouldn\u2019t have got Always Sunny<\/a> or Peep Show<\/a>, and there\u2019s an argument to be made that even stuff like The Sopranos owes a debt of gratitude to Jerry and his friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n Oddly, though, Seinfeld\u2019s biggest contribution to pop culture may be that it helped give us Friends<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t While Friends may be a far more traditional sitcom than Jerry\u2019s creation, the two share certain DNA \u2013 something that critics were keen to point out when Friends debuted, with some even labelling it a Seinfeld rip-off.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jerry himself has made several potshots at Friends for \u2018copying\u2019 his idea, once joking that the show is just Seinfeld \u2018with better-looking people\u2019.<\/p>\n Jerry\u2019s tongue-in-cheek comments aside, the real debt Friends owes Seinfeld is that Friends reruns often ran after Seinfeld, and this lead-in gave the show a massive boost in popularity.<\/p>\n Lisa Kudrow<\/a>, who played Phoebe on the show, once told The Daily Beast: \u2018It was in the summer when we were in reruns after Seinfeld, where Seinfeld was our lead-in, where we exploded.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018I remember going to some party, and Jerry Seinfeld was there, and I said, \u201cHi,\u201d and he said, \u201cYou\u2019re welcome,\u201d\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018I said, \u201cWhy, thank you\u2026what?\u201d Lisa continued. \u2018And he said, \u201cYou\u2019re on after us in the summer, and you\u2019re welcome. I said, \u201cThat\u2019s exactly right. Thank you.’\u201d<\/p>\n So I guess if it wasn\u2019t for Seinfeld there\u2019s an argument to be made there\u2019d be NO FRIENDS FOR YOU!<\/p>\n Watch all nine seasons of Seinfeld on Netflix.<\/strong><\/p>\n Got a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff<\/a> page \u2013 we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SEI_257816508-80de.jpg\")
\n\t\tSorry we couldn\u2019t work a Superman reference in naturally (Picture: AFP)<\/p>\n![\"SEINFELD](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SEI_257816442-a19d.jpg\")
\n\t\tYadda, yadda, yadda (Picture:NBC Universal Inc.)<\/p>\n
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10.<\/strong> The Jimmy ( Season 6, Episode 18) <\/strong>\u2013 Elaine dates a man whose annoying habit of referring to himself in the third-person annoys Jerry.<\/p>\n
6. The Bizarro Jerry (Season 8, Episode 3)<\/strong> \u2013 Elaine meets a man who is Jerry\u2019s exact opposite. <\/p>\n![\"SEINFELD](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SEI_257820578-1ad8.jpg\")
\n\t\tSeinfeld was ludicrously popular (Picture by NBCU Photo Bank\/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"SEINFELD](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SEI_257816439-6f9e.jpg\")
\n\t\tAnd was a commercial and critical success (Picture: NBC Universal, Inc.)<\/p>\n![\"SEINFELD](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SEI_257820576-b9a7.jpg\")
\n\t\tSeinfeld wasn\u2019t afraid to make it\u2019s characters unlikable (Picture by George Lange\/NBCU Photo Bank\/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Actors](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SEI_254505788-4b87.jpg\")
\n\t\tIs that the cast of Seinfeld\u2026 but better looking? (Pictures: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
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