Streaming giant Netflix has blessed us with easy access to all nine seasons of Seinfeld yesterday. In light of the occasion, questions began emerging about the possibility of a reboot of the hit show.
In fact, an interviewer from ET raised that exact question directly to Jerry Seinfield, but Seinfeld quickly shut down the idea.
“It would seem sad to me. It would seem like we couldn’t think of a new idea,” he replied.
When the interviewer suggested a friends-style reunion, Seinfield wasn’t interested, either. “I don’t think you win Emmys for that stuff,” he said.
Though the prospect of a Seinfeld reboot sounds dismal, Jerry was more chipper about the show appearing in Netflix’s catalogue.
“There was nothing like this in the ’90s. We went to VCRs and then we had DVDs, then we had syndication, local television, cable, now streaming, it’s like Jurassic Park, this show,” he quipped. “We’re bringing this dinosaur back to life.”
With ten Emmy awards under the show’s belt, Seinfeld was a big get for the streaming giant. However, the acquisition of the sitcom didn’t come cheap – it’s been reported Netflix paid $500 million US dollars (~68 million AUD) for the rights.
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While there’s no doubt about Seinfeld’s meteoric rise to success (nor its iconic catchphrases), the sitcom has often been described as a “show about nothing”. In the same interview, Jerry touched on this sentiment.
“I think the show was about having fun and making fun of ordinary things, of life,” he explained. “It’s relatable, but there’s an obsessive, neurotic, New York quality that takes it to another level.”
The show wrapped for good in 1999, after nine seasons and 180 episodes. Jerry recently shared that he knew the precise moment when it was time to end the series.
“I remember when I was in the ninth season and I was thinking maybe it’s time to wrap this up, and I remember inviting Michael [Richards] and Julia [Louis-Dreyfous] and Jason [Alexander] to my dressing room and we all just sat there and we stared at each other,” he said during a press conference.
“I went, ‘I was thinking maybe this is our moment to make a good exit.’ We’ve had a lot of good fortune here. Maybe we shouldn’t push our luck too far. And we all agreed that this was the right moment. And I remember it’s the only time we all got together in a dressing room, the four of us, to make that decision. That was powerful, I remember that… I remember because as soon as we all agreed, that was it. You know, if the four of us agreed, I know it wasn’t going to go further.”
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Watch the official trailer for Seinfeld coming to Netflix:
