1 00:00:05,914 --> 00:00:06,954 Seinfeld Explained. 2 00:00:07,454 --> 00:00:13,334 So this is a bonus episode where we're stepping away from the show itself and talking about the people who actually MADE it— 3 00:00:13,654 --> 00:00:15,894 the actors, the creators, the directors. 4 00:00:16,734 --> 00:00:20,474 Season one of Seinfeld is this weird little five-episode experiment, 5 00:00:20,934 --> 00:00:23,834 and it's fascinating to look at who was involved at the ground floor. 6 00:00:24,514 --> 00:00:26,154 It's such a specific moment, right? 7 00:00:26,854 --> 00:00:29,274 Because this is before anyone knew what the show would become. 8 00:00:30,234 --> 00:00:32,594 Jerry Seinfeld is obviously playing a version of himself, 9 00:00:33,054 --> 00:00:35,414 but he's primarily a standup comedian at this point— 10 00:00:35,774 --> 00:00:37,834 not an actor in any traditional sense. 11 00:00:38,134 --> 00:00:39,294 Right, and that's the whole gamble. 12 00:00:39,934 --> 00:00:42,254 He'd been doing standup since the late seventies, 13 00:00:42,254 --> 00:00:44,314 appeared on Carson and Letterman a bunch of times, 14 00:00:44,794 --> 00:00:47,774 but sitcom acting is a completely different skill set. 15 00:00:48,334 --> 00:00:55,694 There's a looseness to his performance that works because the show is built around that conversational rhythm he already had from standup. 16 00:00:55,694 --> 00:00:56,874 And then you've got Larry David, 17 00:00:57,194 --> 00:00:58,654 who co-created the show with Jerry. 18 00:00:59,414 --> 00:01:01,074 He's not on camera in season one, 19 00:01:01,394 --> 00:01:03,534 but he's the other brain behind the whole thing. 20 00:01:04,254 --> 00:01:05,494 David had been a standup too— 21 00:01:05,914 --> 00:01:07,634 actually knew Jerry from the comedy circuit— 22 00:01:08,174 --> 00:01:11,174 and he'd written for Saturday Night Live and Fridays before this. 23 00:01:11,314 --> 00:01:13,614 The SNL stint was apparently miserable for him. 24 00:01:14,014 --> 00:01:16,074 I think he lasted one season as a writer, 25 00:01:16,654 --> 00:01:18,514 and there's that famous story about him quitting, 26 00:01:18,994 --> 00:01:21,934 then coming back the next week and pretending nothing happened. 27 00:01:22,194 --> 00:01:24,134 Which is very George Costanza energy. 28 00:01:24,454 --> 00:01:31,794 Completely! And that makes sense because George is basically Larry David's neuroses filtered through Jason Alexander's performance. 29 00:01:32,714 --> 00:01:35,214 Alexander was a theater guy— he'd done Broadway, 30 00:01:35,654 --> 00:01:39,334 won a Tony for Jerome Robbins' Broadway right around this time actually— 31 00:01:39,854 --> 00:01:42,714 so he's coming from this very technical acting background. 32 00:01:43,054 --> 00:01:45,774 Which is interesting because George is such a physical character. 33 00:01:46,454 --> 00:01:51,034 Like, the way Alexander uses his body and voice to convey George's anxiety and desperation— 34 00:01:51,454 --> 00:01:55,994 that's not something you'd necessarily expect from someone doing their first major TV role, 35 00:01:56,494 --> 00:01:58,814 but he'd been training for years in musical theater. 36 00:01:59,274 --> 00:02:03,874 Yeah, and apparently Alexander initially thought the show was going to be more like a traditional sitcom. 37 00:02:04,514 --> 00:02:09,594 There's that story about him playing George bigger and more neurotic in the early days until they dialed it back a bit. 38 00:02:10,234 --> 00:02:11,314 But even in season one, 39 00:02:11,714 --> 00:02:13,474 you can see him figuring out the rhythm. 40 00:02:13,754 --> 00:02:15,294 Then there's Michael Richards as Kramer. 41 00:02:15,974 --> 00:02:18,454 He'd been around— been on Fridays with Larry David, 42 00:02:18,454 --> 00:02:22,974 actually, and done a bunch of character work in movies like UHF and Problem Child. 43 00:02:23,634 --> 00:02:26,614 But Kramer is such a specific physical creation. 44 00:02:27,034 --> 00:02:29,634 Richards has this background in physical comedy and improv, 45 00:02:30,094 --> 00:02:31,574 and you can tell he's pulling from that. 46 00:02:32,174 --> 00:02:34,474 The way Kramer enters a room, the pratfalls, 47 00:02:34,654 --> 00:02:37,094 the whole physicality— it's very deliberate. 48 00:02:37,694 --> 00:02:38,554 And in season one, 49 00:02:38,694 --> 00:02:43,654 the character's still called Kessler in the pilot because they were basing him on Larry David's actual neighbor, 50 00:02:44,114 --> 00:02:46,774 Kenny Kramer, and hadn't gotten clearance yet or something. 51 00:02:47,074 --> 00:02:52,134 Right, and Kenny Kramer later tried to capitalize on that with his own Kramer Reality Tour in New York. 52 00:02:52,714 --> 00:02:55,374 But Richards' performance is what made the character iconic, 53 00:02:55,754 --> 00:02:56,814 not the real guy. 54 00:02:57,174 --> 00:03:00,074 For sure. And then Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine— 55 00:03:00,634 --> 00:03:02,314 she doesn't appear in the pilot at all. 56 00:03:02,794 --> 00:03:05,874 The network was worried about the show being too male-heavy, 57 00:03:05,874 --> 00:03:08,354 which is wild considering how central Elaine becomes. 58 00:03:08,354 --> 00:03:10,514 Louis-Dreyfus had been on SNL too, 59 00:03:10,514 --> 00:03:14,414 in the mid-eighties cast that's generally considered one of the weaker eras. 60 00:03:15,154 --> 00:03:16,354 But she'd been working steadily— 61 00:03:16,874 --> 00:03:19,254 she was on Day by Day, this family sitcom, 62 00:03:19,654 --> 00:03:29,054 right before Seinfeld. But you can tell even in season one that she's got this skill for physical comedy and deadpan delivery that's totally different from what she'd been doing. 63 00:03:29,414 --> 00:03:32,434 She's also the only one of the main four who came from a wealthy family. 64 00:03:32,994 --> 00:03:34,314 Like, her father was a billionaire, 65 00:03:34,774 --> 00:03:38,634 which is this weird bit of trivia that doesn't connect to anything about her performance, 66 00:03:39,174 --> 00:03:41,234 but it's interesting context. 67 00:03:41,234 --> 00:03:44,174 It definitely didn't stop her from committing fully to the role. 68 00:03:45,514 --> 00:03:48,254 Elaine in season one is still finding her place in the dynamic, 69 00:03:48,654 --> 00:03:55,974 but Louis-Dreyfus is already nailing the exasperation and the way Elaine is both smarter than the guys but also just as petty and ridiculous. 70 00:03:56,714 --> 00:03:58,214 So those are your core four, 71 00:03:58,894 --> 00:04:00,674 and then you've got the people behind the camera. 72 00:04:01,354 --> 00:04:03,014 The pilot was directed by Art Wolff, 73 00:04:03,014 --> 00:04:06,354 who'd done a ton of TV— Taxi, The Jeffersons, 74 00:04:06,574 --> 00:04:08,094 all these classic sitcoms. 75 00:04:08,794 --> 00:04:10,274 But then starting with episode two, 76 00:04:10,894 --> 00:04:13,654 it's all Tom Cherones directing the rest of season one. 77 00:04:13,654 --> 00:04:17,594 Cherones had worked on NewsRadio and would stay with Seinfeld for years. 78 00:04:18,174 --> 00:04:20,774 He's one of these workman directors— not flashy, 79 00:04:21,054 --> 00:04:23,734 but really good at maintaining the rhythm of a multi-camera sitcom. 80 00:04:24,614 --> 00:04:30,954 He understands how to shoot those long dialogue scenes in the coffee shop or Jerry's apartment without it feeling stagey. 81 00:04:30,954 --> 00:04:37,034 And the multi-camera setup is important because that's part of what makes early Seinfeld feel different from later seasons. 82 00:04:37,634 --> 00:04:39,914 They're still figuring out the visual language. 83 00:04:40,514 --> 00:04:42,374 Later on, the show gets more cinematic, 84 00:04:42,914 --> 00:04:44,434 more single-camera in feel, 85 00:04:45,054 --> 00:04:49,394 but season one is very much a traditional studio sitcom in terms of how it's shot. 86 00:04:50,114 --> 00:04:52,254 The writing staff in season one is tiny. 87 00:04:53,014 --> 00:04:56,054 It's basically Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld creating the stories, 88 00:04:56,494 --> 00:04:59,394 with Larry Charles coming in as a writer and supervising producer. 89 00:05:00,274 --> 00:05:02,774 Charles had also been a standup and had written for Fridays— 90 00:05:03,254 --> 00:05:05,814 there's this whole Fridays connection in the early days. 91 00:05:06,514 --> 00:05:08,014 Larry Charles is an interesting guy. 92 00:05:08,714 --> 00:05:10,994 He's got this reputation for being into darker, 93 00:05:11,214 --> 00:05:13,414 weirder comedy. After Seinfeld, 94 00:05:13,894 --> 00:05:17,734 he went on to work with Sacha Baron Cohen on Borat and Brüno, 95 00:05:17,734 --> 00:05:20,354 and he did that documentary about religious extremism, 96 00:05:20,354 --> 00:05:22,994 Religulous, with Bill Maher. 97 00:05:22,994 --> 00:05:25,734 So he's always been drawn to uncomfortable, 98 00:05:26,454 --> 00:05:27,414 provocative material. 99 00:05:27,894 --> 00:05:30,074 You can see hints of that even in season one— 100 00:05:30,554 --> 00:05:34,334 there's a meanness to some of the humor that's not quite like other sitcoms of the era. 101 00:05:35,194 --> 00:05:36,634 It's not mean-spirited exactly, 102 00:05:36,934 --> 00:05:38,434 but it's not warm and fuzzy either. 103 00:05:38,934 --> 00:05:40,954 Right, and that's the Larry David influence too. 104 00:05:41,654 --> 00:05:46,374 David's whole comedic worldview is about social discomfort and petty grievances. 105 00:05:46,814 --> 00:05:50,814 He's mining his own neuroses and irritations for material, 106 00:05:51,354 --> 00:05:53,274 and that's what makes the show feel specific. 107 00:05:53,994 --> 00:05:56,274 And Jerry Seinfeld is the other half of that equation— 108 00:05:56,914 --> 00:06:00,554 he's got this observational standup style that's very clean and precise. 109 00:06:01,354 --> 00:06:05,514 So you've got David's neuroticism and Seinfeld's observational clarity colliding, 110 00:06:05,914 --> 00:06:07,234 and that's the engine of the show. 111 00:06:07,854 --> 00:06:13,794 The standup interludes in season one are interesting too because they really hammer home that Jerry's a comedian first. 112 00:06:14,614 --> 00:06:16,474 Later seasons mostly drop that structure, 113 00:06:16,754 --> 00:06:17,674 but in season one, 114 00:06:17,854 --> 00:06:20,554 you get Jerry doing standup at the beginning and end of episodes, 115 00:06:21,134 --> 00:06:23,034 and it's directly connected to the story. 116 00:06:23,554 --> 00:06:25,874 Which makes sense for easing a standup into acting. 117 00:06:26,594 --> 00:06:32,194 It's like, "Here's the thing you're already good at, and we'll build a narrative around it." But as the show found its footing, 118 00:06:32,514 --> 00:06:34,194 they realized they didn't need that crutch. 119 00:06:34,674 --> 00:06:37,014 And the early episodes are so small in scope. 120 00:06:37,714 --> 00:06:41,774 Like, the pilot is literally just Jerry and George sitting around talking about a phone call. 121 00:06:42,274 --> 00:06:45,234 There's no big plot, no wacky misunderstandings— 122 00:06:45,574 --> 00:06:48,554 it's just two guys obsessing over ambiguous signals. 123 00:06:49,354 --> 00:06:51,174 That's the Larry David influence again. 124 00:06:51,834 --> 00:06:54,774 He's always said the show is about how people really talk and behave, 125 00:06:55,174 --> 00:06:57,174 not about manufactured sitcom plots. 126 00:06:58,074 --> 00:07:00,034 Season one is very much testing that premise— 127 00:07:00,754 --> 00:07:03,114 can you make a whole episode about nothing but a phone call, 128 00:07:03,514 --> 00:07:04,454 or a stock tip, 129 00:07:04,834 --> 00:07:06,274 or trying to break up with a friend? 130 00:07:06,814 --> 00:07:08,034 The answer turned out to be yes, 131 00:07:08,734 --> 00:07:10,494 but you can tell they're still figuring it out. 132 00:07:11,134 --> 00:07:12,514 The rhythms aren't quite there yet, 133 00:07:12,974 --> 00:07:15,514 and the characters are a bit more grounded than they'll become later. 134 00:07:16,454 --> 00:07:17,554 George isn't as pathetic, 135 00:07:17,554 --> 00:07:19,674 Kramer isn't as cartoonish, 136 00:07:20,034 --> 00:07:21,234 Elaine isn't as cutting. 137 00:07:21,794 --> 00:07:25,714 Jason Alexander has talked about how he didn't initially understand what the show was. 138 00:07:26,154 --> 00:07:27,854 He thought it was going to be more about plot, 139 00:07:27,854 --> 00:07:31,414 and it took him a while to realize it was really about behavior and conversation. 140 00:07:32,314 --> 00:07:39,014 And Michael Richards apparently would sometimes improvise these wild physical bits that they'd have to rein in because they were too big for the space. 141 00:07:39,334 --> 00:07:43,514 Yeah, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus has said she was still figuring out who Elaine was in season one. 142 00:07:44,274 --> 00:07:46,854 The character's described as Jerry's ex-girlfriend, 143 00:07:46,854 --> 00:07:49,414 but what does that actually mean for how they interact? 144 00:07:50,134 --> 00:07:52,194 That's something they had to discover through doing it. 145 00:07:52,494 --> 00:07:53,754 And Jerry Seinfeld himself— 146 00:07:54,214 --> 00:07:55,374 he's not a trained actor, 147 00:07:55,614 --> 00:07:58,594 so his performance is very much just him being a version of himself. 148 00:07:59,154 --> 00:08:01,354 Which works because the show is designed around that, 149 00:08:01,574 --> 00:08:02,634 but it's also a limitation. 150 00:08:03,274 --> 00:08:07,594 He's never going to have the range that Alexander or Louis-Dreyfus or Richards have. 151 00:08:07,734 --> 00:08:09,354 But that's also part of the charm, right? 152 00:08:10,054 --> 00:08:11,654 He's the straight man in a lot of ways. 153 00:08:12,174 --> 00:08:13,354 Everyone else is doing bigger, 154 00:08:13,394 --> 00:08:17,734 more exaggerated characters, and Jerry's just reacting with this bemused, 155 00:08:18,294 --> 00:08:19,934 slightly judgmental detachment. 156 00:08:20,274 --> 00:08:24,914 Exactly. And Larry David understood that dynamic because he knew Jerry's strengths. 157 00:08:25,714 --> 00:08:27,714 David's writing to what Jerry can do naturally— 158 00:08:28,294 --> 00:08:30,694 the observational commentary, the sarcasm, 159 00:08:30,694 --> 00:08:33,854 the social anxiety disguised as casual interest. 160 00:08:34,114 --> 00:08:36,714 It's also worth mentioning the executives who backed the show. 161 00:08:37,554 --> 00:08:40,154 Brandon Tartikoff at NBC was the one who greenlit it, 162 00:08:40,394 --> 00:08:44,314 and apparently he didn't really get it but trusted that there was something there. 163 00:08:45,114 --> 00:08:47,354 The show tested terribly with audiences. 164 00:08:47,694 --> 00:08:50,954 Yeah, the pilot tested so badly that it almost didn't get picked up. 165 00:08:51,474 --> 00:08:53,154 And even when they ordered more episodes, 166 00:08:53,494 --> 00:08:55,734 it was just four— this tiny little season. 167 00:08:56,434 --> 00:08:58,494 The network had no idea what to do with it. 168 00:08:58,494 --> 00:09:01,274 Which is probably why they had the creative freedom to be weird. 169 00:09:01,874 --> 00:09:05,554 Nobody was paying close attention because nobody expected it to be a hit. 170 00:09:06,314 --> 00:09:09,614 So Larry and Jerry could just make the show they wanted to make. 171 00:09:09,894 --> 00:09:12,534 And Tom Cherones as director was willing to serve that vision. 172 00:09:13,234 --> 00:09:15,874 He wasn't trying to impose some big directorial style— 173 00:09:16,274 --> 00:09:18,394 he was just helping them execute what they wanted, 174 00:09:18,774 --> 00:09:22,574 which in season one is a lot of long scenes of people talking in confined spaces. 175 00:09:23,014 --> 00:09:25,954 The other thing about season one is how New York it feels. 176 00:09:26,594 --> 00:09:28,414 Obviously the show is always set in New York, 177 00:09:28,694 --> 00:09:33,834 but there's something about the early episodes that feels very rooted in a specific time and place— 178 00:09:34,674 --> 00:09:36,714 late eighties, early nineties Manhattan. 179 00:09:37,734 --> 00:09:39,014 Jerry's doing standup at clubs, 180 00:09:39,274 --> 00:09:40,194 they're navigating the city, 181 00:09:40,694 --> 00:09:43,474 the apartment has that cramped New York feel. 182 00:09:43,774 --> 00:09:47,634 And the guest actors in season one are mostly just solid working New York actors. 183 00:09:48,334 --> 00:09:50,134 Nobody famous, nobody flashy— 184 00:09:50,554 --> 00:09:52,854 just people who can deliver the dialogue naturally. 185 00:09:53,534 --> 00:09:55,134 It adds to that grounded quality. 186 00:09:55,134 --> 00:09:56,474 Right, and that's a choice. 187 00:09:57,234 --> 00:10:01,134 They're not stunt-casting celebrities or doing Very Special Episodes. 188 00:10:01,534 --> 00:10:05,334 It's just people being annoying and petty in very specific ways, 189 00:10:05,934 --> 00:10:08,514 and that specificity is what makes it funny. 190 00:10:08,774 --> 00:10:11,934 Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld are both detail-oriented guys. 191 00:10:12,474 --> 00:10:16,434 Like, David famously has all these rules and pet peeves about social behavior, 192 00:10:16,874 --> 00:10:18,114 and that's all over the show. 193 00:10:18,814 --> 00:10:22,934 And Jerry's standup is built on noticing tiny absurdities in everyday life. 194 00:10:22,934 --> 00:10:26,954 So the show is this amplification of their particular neuroses. 195 00:10:27,214 --> 00:10:29,894 And Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 196 00:10:29,894 --> 00:10:35,894 and Michael Richards are skilled enough actors to take those neuroses and make them into full characters. 197 00:10:36,694 --> 00:10:37,994 George isn't just Larry David— 198 00:10:38,474 --> 00:10:41,214 he's Alexander's interpretation of David's anxieties. 199 00:10:41,694 --> 00:10:44,074 Same with Kramer and Richards' physicality, 200 00:10:44,454 --> 00:10:46,434 or Elaine and Louis-Dreyfus' timing. 201 00:10:46,714 --> 00:10:48,494 It's a real collaboration in that sense. 202 00:10:49,114 --> 00:10:51,634 The writers are creating the situations and the dialogue, 203 00:10:51,634 --> 00:10:55,374 but the actors are finding the humanity and the comedy in the performance. 204 00:10:56,134 --> 00:10:57,154 Alright, that's the bonus— 205 00:10:57,754 --> 00:11:01,254 just wanted to give some context on the people who actually made season one happen. 206 00:11:02,014 --> 00:11:03,494 Back to the episodes next time. 207 00:11:04,094 --> 00:11:04,614 See you then.