Julia Louis-Dreyfus didn’t mince words about what it took to make “Seinfeld” a television phenomenon.
The actress, who starred as Elaine Benes, revealed there was “tons” of friction behind the scenes as the cast and creators worked to get the groundbreaking comedy just right.
“Well, I mean, it’s hard to do anything really well, and it takes a lot of work, and you’re gonna butt heads,” she explained during an appearance on the “Friends Keep Secrets” podcast.
According to Louis-Dreyfus, creators Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld were “collaborative” with the cast when it came to direction. However, “sometimes there was an argument.”
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Despite the occasional clashes, Louis-Dreyfus believed in what they were creating from the start. Her bigger concern was whether NBC would see the same potential.
“I thought it was, I thought it was really good,” she noted. “Those first four. I thought, ‘Wow, this is so unusual.’ And then I thought, ‘The network is too stupid. They’ll never pick it up.'”
The actress recalled filming the comedy hit alongside Seinfeld, Jason Alexander and Michael Richards as “just being friends together and just hanging out.”
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“That sounds as if it was just hanging out. It was a lot of work to make the show,” she clarified.
“Seinfeld” aired on NBC from 1989 until 1998. Set largely in New York City, the series follows a fictionalized version of comedian Jerry Seinfeld and his close-knit, frequently self-absorbed circle of friends: George Costanza, Elaine Benes and Cosmo Kramer.
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Often described as a “show about nothing,” “Seinfeld” built its comedy around the small annoyances, unwritten social rules and awkward encounters of everyday life.
“Seinfeld” ran for nine seasons and 180 episodes and won the 1993 Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. Its May 1998 series finale became a major television event, drawing an estimated 76 million U.S. viewers.
Decades later, the show remains influential for its unconventional storytelling, interconnected plots, catchphrases and willingness to make its principal characters funny without necessarily making them likable.