Editing Seinfeld (section)

{{Short description|American television sitcom (1989–1998)}}
{{About|the American television sitcom}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox television
| image                = Seinfeld logo.svg
| genre                = [[Sitcom]]<br />[[Slice of life]] <br />[[Dark comedy]]
| creator              = {{ubl|[[Larry David]]|[[Jerry Seinfeld]]}}
| showrunner           = Larry David (seasons 1–7)
| director             = {{ubl|[[Tom Cherones]] (seasons 1–5)|[[Andy Ackerman]] (seasons 6–9)|Various (seasons 1, 3, 6 & 8)}}
| presenter            = 
| starring             = {{ubl|[[Jerry Seinfeld]]|[[Julia Louis-Dreyfus]]|[[Michael Richards]]|[[Jason Alexander]]}}
| theme_music_composer = [[Jonathan Wolff (musician)|Jonathan Wolff]]
| composer             = Jonathan Wolff
| country              = United States
| language             = English
| num_seasons          = 9
| num_episodes         = 180
| list_episodes        = List of Seinfeld episodes
| executive_producer   = {{ubl|[[Larry David]] (1990–1996)|[[George Shapiro]]|[[Howard West]]|[[Andrew Scheinman]]|(1991–1993)|[[Jerry Seinfeld]] (1996–1998)|[[Alec Berg]] (1997–1998)|[[Jeff Schaffer]] (1997–1998)}}
| camera               = [[Multi-camera]]
| runtime              = 22–24 minutes
| company              = {{Plain list|
* Giggling Goose Productions (1989, pilot)
* Fred Barron Productions (1990, season 1)
* [[Howard West|West]]/[[George Shapiro|Shapiro]] Productions
* [[Castle Rock Entertainment]]
}}
| network              = [[NBC]]
| first_aired          = {{start date|1989|7|5}}
| last_aired           = {{end date|1998|5|14}}
| related              = ''[[Curb Your Enthusiasm]]''
| image_alt            = 
| released             = 
}}

'''''Seinfeld''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|aɪ|n|f|ɛ|l|d}} {{respell|SYNE|feld}}) is<!-- Do not change to "was" as fiction is written in present tense and remains as "is" per Wikipedia convention. See: [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Television/Style guidelines#Lead paragraphs]]. --> an American [[television sitcom]] created by [[Larry David]] and [[Jerry Seinfeld]] that originally aired on [[NBC]] from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of [[List of Seinfeld episodes|180 episodes]]. Its [[ensemble cast]] stars Seinfeld as a [[Jerry Seinfeld (character)|fictionalized version of himself]] and focuses on his personal life with three of his friends: best friend [[George Costanza]] ([[Jason Alexander]]), former girlfriend [[Elaine Benes]] ([[Julia Louis-Dreyfus]]), and neighbor from across the hall [[Cosmo Kramer]] ([[Michael Richards]]).

''Seinfeld'' is set mostly in and around the titular character's apartment in [[Manhattan]]'s [[Upper West Side]] in [[New York City]]. It has been described as "a show about nothing", often focusing on the [[slice of life|minutiae of daily life]].<ref name="BBC" /> Interspersed in all episodes of the first seven seasons are moments of [[stand-up comedy]] from the fictional Jerry Seinfeld, frequently related to the episode's events.

As a rising comedian in the late 1980s, Jerry Seinfeld was presented with an opportunity to create a show with NBC. He asked Larry David, a fellow comedian and friend, to help create a premise for a sitcom.<ref>{{cite book |last=Armstrong |first=Jennifer |date=2016 |title=Seinfeldia |location=New York |publisher=Simon & Schuster |pages=7–8 |isbn=978-1-4767-5610-3 |author-link=Jennifer Armstrong}}</ref> The series was produced by West-Shapiro Productions and [[Castle Rock Entertainment]] and is distributed in syndication by [[Sony Pictures Television]].{{refn|group=nb|name="nb distribution"|As Sony Pictures Television Studios since 2021; formerly known as '''[[Columbia TriStar Television|Columbia TriStar Television Distribution]]''' from 1995–2002.}} It was largely written by David and Seinfeld along with scriptwriters. A favorite among critics, the series led the [[Nielsen ratings]] in Seasons 6 and 9 and finished among the top two (along with ''[[ER (TV series)|ER]]'' of the same network) every year from 1994 to 1998. Only two other shows—''[[I Love Lucy]]'' and ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]''—finished their runs at the top of the ratings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Looking back at 'I Love Lucy' 64 years later |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/10-love-lucy-article-1.2397434 |last=Dostis|first=Melanie|website=Daily News |location=New York |date=October 15, 2015 |access-date=May 18, 2020}}</ref>

''Seinfeld'' is almost universally regarded as one of the greatest and most influential American shows of all time.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://ew.com/gallery/tv-10-all-time-greatest/|title=TV: 10 All-Time Greatest |newspaper=Entertainment Weekly |date=June 27, 2013|access-date=February 16, 2022}}</ref><ref name=tvguideTop50>{{cite news|title=TV Guide Names Top 50 Shows|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tv-guide-names-top-50-shows/|agency=Associated Press|date=April 26, 2002|author=Cosgrove-Mather, Bootie|access-date=February 16, 2022|work=CBS News}}</ref><ref name="Variety">{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/lists/greatest-tv-shows-of-all-time/|title=The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time|work=Variety|date=December 20, 2023}}</ref><ref name="writers guild of america">{{Cite web|url=http://www.wga.org/writers-room/101-best-lists/101-best-written-tv-series/list|title=101 Best Written TV Series|website=www.wga.org}}</ref><ref name="Sepinwall">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-lists/best-tv-shows-of-all-time-1234598313/seinfeld-6-1234599287/|title=The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time|first=Alan|last=Sepinwall|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=September 26, 2022|access-date=September 30, 2022}}</ref> Its most renowned episodes include "[[The Chinese Restaurant]]", "[[The Soup Nazi]]", "[[The Parking Garage]]",<ref>{{cite magazine|year=1997|title=Special Collector's Issue: 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time|magazine=[[TV Guide]]|issue=June 28 – July 4}}</ref> "[[The Marine Biologist]]", and "[[The Contest]]".<ref name=TVGuide100Episodes>"TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time and over 6.5 billion different people have watched an episode". ''[[TV Guide]]''; June 15, 2009; pp. 34–49.</ref> [[E!]] named it the "Number 1 reason [why] the '90s ruled".<ref name="e-101">[http://www.tv.com/e!s-101/reasons-the-90s-ruled-101---81/episode/315325/summary.html "Reasons the '90s Ruled 101 – 81"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090926061345/http://www.tv.com/e!s-101/reasons-the-90s-ruled-101---81/episode/315325/summary.html |date=September 26, 2009 }}, TV.com</ref> Quotes from numerous episodes have become catchphrases in popular culture.