'Seinfeld' May Come to Netflix: Full Details Inside

seinfeld may come netflix edit — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Perhaps the best part about reddit’s no-holds-barred AMA (Ask Me Anything) Q&A format is the barrel of insights you get into the minds of your favorite celebrities. How did you get your start? Who’s your favorite actor to work with? What kind of sandwich do you make at 2AM after a drunken evening? But Jerry Seinfeld’s admission yesterday that he is currently in talks with Netflix for the streaming rights to perhaps the greatest sitcom ever, was one of the best AMA revelations we’ve come across.

In his AMA interview on Thursday, readers were treated to a host of nuggets about the life of Mr. Seinfeld, from his dream guest on his new Web show Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (the late George Carlin), to his preference of the Mets over the Yankees. When the Netflix conversation came up, Mr. Seinfeld revealed that “conversations are currently taking place.”

When the Netflix conversation came up, Mr. Seinfeld revealed that “conversations are currently taking place.”

It’s hard to fully express Seinfeld’s influence on TV, culture, and comedy as a whole. The famed “show about nothing” was one of the first (if not the first) pseudo-biographical shows ever to hit the mainstream. The success of Seinfeld has spawned a host of other hilarious shows with similarly vacant premises following the almost-real life of comedians, including co-creator Larry David’s own Curb Your Enthusiasm, Louie C.K’s Louie, Mark Maron’s new IFC show about his podcast Maron, and others.

However, while all of the above examples have made their way to the OTT (over the top) streaming format in one form or another, the gold standard that popularized the trend has remained frustratingly elusive. Those who don’t have cable are especially hard-up for their Seinfeld fix, relegated to catching (dare we say it) live transmissions of the show with (gasp) regular commercial interruptions, or procuring it by more seedy means. Crackle features a few episodes at a time, but not nearly enough for true fans.

The reason Seinfeld has remained so long in the wilderness when it comes to newer forms of technology is no secret: the show is a goldmine. Syndication rights, and the following DVD releases have made co-creators David and Seinfeld rich to a level that few TV stars — let alone comedians — ever approach. We’re talking hip-hop mogul money.

But now, whether it’s because the show has reached its peak monetarily in the syndication market (the grainy 4:3 footage doesn’t exactly lend itself to Blu-ray) or because Netflix finally has the cash to throw down for the show, it appears the show that Steven Spielberg reportedly watched to cheer him up during the filming of Schindler’s List will finally come to Netflix.

There are currently no definitive plans for Seinfeld’s arrival on the top streaming service in the land. However, until it does appear, we recommend checking out the aforementioned Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. While the show does suffer from a serious lack of George (except one episode where George appears), its utter hilarity proves that 16 years later, Seinfeld’s still got it.

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