Jerry Seinfeld Reflects on the Controversial Seinfeld Finale and Its Redemption in Curb Your Enthusiasm
Jerry Seinfeld, the legendary comedian and co-creator of the iconic sitcom Seinfeld, recently opened up about the controversial ending of the show that left fans and critics divided. The finale, which aired on May 14, 1998, marked the end of the show’s nine-season run and saw the main characters—Jerry (Seinfeld), Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), George (Jason Alexander), and Kramer (Michael Richards)—imprisoned after being convicted for breaking a small-town’s Good Samaritan law.
Seinfeld, now 72, reflected on the decision to leave the characters in jail, calling it the “only mistake” he felt they made. He shared this insight during a 2024 appearance on the Q with Tom Powers podcast, where he discussed the lasting impact of the finale.
“I think the only mistake, if there was one, was leaving them in jail,” Seinfeld said. “What we wanted at the time was to see all the great characters that we had had over the years that made the show.”
This misstep was eventually corrected 25 years later in the Curb Your Enthusiasm finale, which aired on April 7, 2024. The episode paralleled the original Seinfeld finale, with Larry David, the co-creator of both shows, facing a court case. Seinfeld, along with David’s close friends, traveled to Atlanta to support him, mirroring the original storyline.
In the Curb Your Enthusiasm finale, David is found guilty of violating Georgia’s Election Integrity Act and is sentenced to a year in prison. However, the sentence is quickly overturned due to a mistrial, allowing him to walk free. Seinfeld explained the decision to revisit the original joke on the podcast:
“When me and Larry David and Jeff Schaffer, who was also one of the Seinfeld writers, were on the set of Curb that late Friday night, we went, ‘Yeah, that was maybe our only mistake.’ And I said, ‘You know, we can fix it now.’”
The comedy legend realized that they had a rare opportunity to hit the punchline on a joke over two-and-a-half decades in the making. “We all just looked at each other like, ‘That’s an amazing opportunity.’ I realized that we set up a joke 25 years ago,” he added.
David and Schaffer addressed the parallels between the finales of the two legendary sitcoms. Schaffer said: “It was just incredible, by the way, getting to bring all that full-circle and then getting to do it one last time in the season finale. As Jerry said, it was a joke 26 years in the making. It’s neat that you can stick around long enough to do that.”
David humorously added: “F you! You didn’t like the first one? F you!”
The move to have a second crack at the Seinfeld finale definitely paid off as fans of both shows and critics alike gushed over the ending. The original Seinfeld finale was the fourth-most watched overall series finale in the US after MASH, Cheers, and Fugitive*, with a whopping 76.3 million viewers.
A Joke That Took 25 Years to Land
The Curb Your Enthusiasm finale ended after 12 seasons and 120 episodes nearly 24 years after premiering in October 2000. The decision to revisit the Seinfeld finale not only brought closure to fans but also highlighted the enduring legacy of both shows.
Meanwhile, Seinfeld recently took a jab at Friends, claiming the show copied his hit sitcom Seinfeld. The comedian made the comment during the Netflix Is a Joke festival at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. He teased the beloved series starring Jennifer Aniston, saying:
“Here’s my theory on Friends. My show came on ’89, ’90. Friends came on a few years later. I think NBC was watching my show and went, ‘Hey, this is working pretty well. Why don’t we try the same thing with good-looking people?’ And that was a pretty good idea. I think that kind of worked.”
Seinfeld co-created the show with Larry David, who went on to create and star on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. The comedian told fans that Curb Your Enthusiasm and Breaking Bad were good guesses for his favorite show, but never actually named what it was.
Widely regarded as one of the most iconic comedy shows of all time, Seinfeld followed four single friends in New York City, capturing the everyday absurdities of life in a way that resonated with audiences for decades.
