The Curious Case of the Seinfeld Curse

For a show about nothing, Seinfeld has become one of the most beloved shows of all time. But despite it's enormous success, the show's alumni has faced a strange amount of failure for people who were main characters in such an iconic show. Was the show really cursed? Or was it something else?
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[@penguinboyaz]

Worth mentioning Jason Alexander also had a strong Broadway career and even won a Tony award!

[@argusfleibeit1165]

He was secretly an amazing song & dance man all along.

[@Jose-se9pu]

Out of the four, he was the only one who wasnt a comedian, but a "serious" actor.

[@FallenStarFeatures]

@@Jose-se9pu - That's his secret - he never played George for laughs, he was always dead serious about the character.

[@Mantis_Toboggan_TrashMan]

Jason Alexander was the best actor hands down. Jerry was terrible in a way that just worked. His acting was bad but the delivery and tone cancelled it out he made it work.

[@eyesonthey]

Plus he wrote that pamphlet on Acting Without Acting.

[@chimphead73]

Jason Alexander deserves better he is an insanely good actor.

[@bombabombom3603]

And an even better voice actor too.

[@nicktaylor2657]

Believe me he's done quite well in his career ☺️

[@VideoGameAutopsy]

He can always go back to the stage. That’s what he’s always been passionate about, and I’m pretty sure that Broadway would welcome him back with open arms.

[@davidripley6975]

DUCK MAN, legendary voice actor as well

[@Woozlewuzzleable]

He made some good guest star appearances, Monk and Malcolm in the the Middle just to name a few.

[@Vibin_wit_tha_zu]

One of my fav things is Julia playing Maggie on arrested development. The whole faking blindness plot on the show feels kinda like a callback to Elaine faking deafness on seinfeld

[@loremipsum2408]

Dang, forgot all about that role! Thanks for reminding me!

[@tixmctivy]

In my opinion best writing since Seinfeld. Elaine is gold where ever she appears.

[@notthegreatestdetective]

that was a pretty funny episode of arrested

[@theamazingdoubleA]

Julia Louis Dreyfus has the best post career of the supporting characters hands down. "The New adventures of Old Christine" is HILARIOUS. As well as VEEP. You can tell she's been in the background so frequently early on in her career, she was able to hone in her craft more with each show. She's a real inspiration to me and a true comedy underdog.

[@lukefischer5288]

She is truly prolific and does not get enough credit. She is the only one who has been able not only to have success but head two new shows.

[@lunarialoonatic]

Never really liked Elaine as a character. She was fine but imo Julia carried the role and o y shows when you see her in other shows

[@loremipsum2408]

Agree. Her role on Curb your Enthusiasm as herself was also really great

[@kingcc2]

The New Adventures of Old Christine is funny AH😂😂😂 I'm still watching the reruns. I like her as an actress, but I never bothered to watch Veep. Is it any good?

[@FatDave2112]

Her episodes on Arrested Development were among the series' very best. That she was able to raise the bar for an already outstanding show is testament to her stellar comedic acting chops.

[@davidkahnt2632]

Unpopular opinion: Seeing Michael Richards on Seinfeld's coffee and cars show really warmed my heart

[@jgrant3654]

This is a popular opinion among white people :/

[@mammi3577]

❤️ Agree

[@jainilsheth7996]

It was a very wholesome episode, I genuinely had a good laugh

[@AR.24]

agree

[@Jose-se9pu]

He isnt racist, he got mad because he was getting insulted in a show, and he choose his words poorly...Jerry always supported him.

[@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770]

Definitely agree with your whole pet peeve about sitcoms having “The Actor Show” as a title when the main character isn’t even called that.

[@BradWest96]

Same, they did the same thing with Cliff Huxtable on the Cosby Show.

[@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770]

@@BradWest96 in hindsight, naming it “Huxtable” would have DEFINITELY been the way better move. It might have actually been easier to watch, because it would be more disconnected from Cosby.

[@BradWest96]

@@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770 I agree. And it's such a shame considering how many other talented actors and writers that contributed to that show. I used to watch it almost every night as a kid and now it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

[@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770]

@@BradWest96 it’s just really hard to separate the artist from the art when he’s not only the star, but the star AND the creator of a show literally named after him. It’s not just a show that Cosby happens to be in, not just a show that he happened to make, but “The COSBY Show”. It’s very inseparable from him.

[@BradWest96]

@@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770 Well said, in this case it’s unfortunately irredeemable. Especially when his character and persona is based around being so kind and loving to his family.

[@VideoGameAutopsy]

I don’t blame the actors for these failure follow ups, I blame the networks. They didn’t see the actors, they only saw the characters they played. Michael and Jason really tried to do something different, but the networks weren’t looking for that, all they wanted were spiritual successors to Seinfeld. Julia, on the other hand, is too big to fail. She was always going to have a career.

[@cutlass8783]

Jerry ending the show at the peak of popularity was the smartest thing they could ever do

[@johnnyrocket1685]

I mean let’s be honest, seasons 7-9 compared to seasons 1-3 feel like a completely different show in some ways. But yes, if they had kept it going for more seasons, I agree it probably would’ve gotten even worse.

[@Trigger200284]

I could have used another couple seasons. Some of the craziest stuff was from the last couple of seasons, there was plenty of stuff they could have did.

[@cutlass8783]

@@Trigger200284 that was the whole point, they left you wanting more

[@PaulColclough47]

Not so much a curse of Seinfeld as it is just not having Larry David around. It's no surprise that the first person to find success after Seinfeld was Larry.

[@beback_]

Julia has done pretty well too.

[@04dram04]

Bingo

[@user-vi4xy1jw7e]

Seinfeld was still popular after Larry left.

[@vladchan]

It’s all about the writers if the script isn’t funny you are screwed. It happens with long running shows too the writers who made it a huge hit leave and it goes downhill.

[@FallenStarFeatures]

The actress featured @9:44 is not Julia Louis-Dreyfuss. It is Catherine Keener appearing in a guest role.

[@user-vi4xy1jw7e]

I was wondering why it showed her

[@bigguy7353]

No one said it was her. And before you say "they were talking about Elaine when she appeared".... Jerry also appeared when he was talking about Elaine. Do we need clarification that HE isn't Elaine either? It's clear it's not her and no one said "See this actress? It Julia Dreyfuss!"

[@bigguy7353]

@@user-vi4xy1jw7e There were other people on the screen as well. It's just clips from the show. No one claimed it was her.

[@DeadPixel1105]

@@bigguy7353 Nah, it was a mistake on the part of the video uploader. He clearly thought that woman was Elaine.

[@user-vi4xy1jw7e]

@@bigguy7353 Notice how the clips focused on George and Kramer when he was talking about Jason Alexander and Michael Richards respectively? Meanwhile, Elaine wasn't even featured in the clip while he was discussing Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Doesn't take much thought to realize it was a mistake. Not sure why you're getting so worked up anyway. Lol

[@wvu05]

That happened a lot more way back when. The lead character on _The Dick Van Dyke Show_ is Rob Petrie, and the lead character on _The Mary Tyler Moore Show_ is Mary Richards.

[@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770]

It’s such a weird, lazy, and confusing title. I for one think “The ____ Show” should be reserved for talk shows and sketch shows, not narrative works. If sitcoms have actor titles, it should be just the last name and ONLY if they’re the main character. Titles should tell you what the show is about, not just who it stars. Hell, even Seinfeld is kind of a misnomer, because it’s about the other three characters just as much as it is about Jerry. It should have been called “Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer”, or “Douchebags In New York”, or “Monk’s Cafe”. Monk’s Cafe could work. I mean, that’s where they all hang out.

[@U1TR4F0RCE]

@@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770 To be fair the Dick Van Dyke Show is from the sixties so I think it predates the modern talk show

[@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770]

@@U1TR4F0RCE talk shows have been a thing since the ‘50s. The Tonight Show started in 1954!

[@FoxUnitNell]

I believe in old times that the show would be called by it's product sponsors like days of our lives would be the ivory soap show's day of our life so possibly dick van dyke could have been one of the first individuals that backed a show rather than a cigarette company or laundry detergent brand buying up the time slot to present programs during their scheduled show times.

[@darklordojeda]

@@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770 The main reason they used the actor name was the drawing power. Nobody knew who the character was in the beginning so they had to get people watching by using what people knew.

[@MrBadjohn69]

Hard to feel sorry for those 3 actors. They still get paid millions of dollars each year from the Seinfeld series.

[@calessel3139]

I always thought a interesting spin off would have had Michael Richards and Wayne Knight team up as their Seinfeld characters Kramer & Newman. The two always had very good chemistry on the show and sketches they were in, quite funny. So paired with the right Seinfeld writers (particularly Larry David), I think a spin off in involving both of them could have been a hit.

[@natnat1975]

I have to respectfully disagree. Yes, they were irreplaceable, but their storylines were mainly genius fill-ins. I don't see a full show about them lasting long. It's been tried so many times before with characters of more minor roles.

[@calessel3139]

@@natnat1975 Yes, of course there's no guarantee that it would have been successful.

[@natnat1975]

@@calessel3139 But we've been surprised before, right?

[@calessel3139]

@@natnat1975 Yeah. Look at Frasier. If, back in the 80s, you were to tell me that a spinoff show about the psychiatrist from Cheers would have been a major TV show in the 90s, I would have thought your crazy.

[@user-vi4xy1jw7e]

Wouldn't have worked. Neither characters were the straight man; people would've gotten tired of the wackiness.

[@MechaKluh]

Naming shows after the big star is an old tv norm. "Dick Van Dyke Show" in which DVD's character is "Rob Petrie". "Mary Tyler Moore Show" in which MTM plays "Mary Richards". History.

[@PeterMasalski93]

Larry David was the brains behind the jokes.. If you watch Curb your Enthusiasm.. you realize that this guy turns everything into an interesting story

[@CueTheTrumpets]

9:45 .... That's not Elaine.

[@10KProductions]

Lmao whoops

[@CueTheTrumpets]

@@10KProductions still a great vid

[@AlexThorn]

Like any other Seinfeld fan I watch it religiously and use it to as background noise cuz it's just so comforting. But also as with any popular show they always do spin-off series and what they truly don't understand they being Hollywood is that the chemistry of the cast is what really made it so successful not just one individual on the show.

[@thesaurusakasickakatheomc7688]

No one ever mentions Duckman. It ran longer than any of the shows covered in this video, and it was great. Jason Alexander's best non Seinfeld role.

[@popshoppacks]

I think most actors struggle to find new roles after being part of a major film or TV show. For example, it's near impossible to see Daniel Radcliffe and not think of Harry Potter. Thankfully Radcliffe has been able to continue his acting career, but as an audience member it's difficult to see him in newer roles and see him as anything else than the boy wizard. When the audience knows an actor from an iconic role, it's difficult to cast them in a different role because the audience not only sees them as an already established character, but they also may expect the new role to live up to the expectations set by the previous iconic role.

[@sylph8005]

Daniel Radcliffe is taking such wild roles that it actually does help you separate him from Harry Potter. I’ve seen Miracle Workers: Dark Ages and Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, and he was wonderful in both of them and I’ll probably think primarily of them when thinking about Radcliffe. He’s had other roles as well, such as the two other Miracle Workers seasons, Swiss Army Man (where he plays a talking corpse who’s flatulence helps someone get off a deserted island), the Lady in Black (gothic horror for Hammer studios), and Guns Akimbo (where he has guns, I assume)

[@joshprendiz71]

Very true

[@user-yc5um2pl5v]

Well, Radcliffe isn't a very good actor and with these their most famous role is the longest-lasting in peoples' memories.

[@tyf.5111]

Minor nitpick, but aside from the footage not being Elaine in a section of your video, the Julia's last name is pronounced LOUIE-Dreyfus.

[@bigguy7353]

No one claimed that was her at any point. Just clips from the show.

[@allenec-1374]

Yeah. That was a bit jarring.

[@natnat1975]

As for best Seinfeld characters, I think George edges out Kramer. His character is more dynamic and flexible, so they could base way more storylines on him.....and they did.

[@MrSlimSheaD]

I think what disproves the curse is looking back at all the successful entertainers who had guest spots on the show. Brian Cranston, Anna Gunn, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Silverman, Laurie Loughlin, Parton Oswald, Drake Bell, Courtney Cox, Brad Garrett, and Jeremy Piven to name a few.

[@numbmoi]

i love how breaking bad basically came out of the ashes of seinfeld and the x files

[@mathiasjameson9574]

Great video ! Keep grinding ! Love all your content 😊

[@chrisballas3356]

There is no curse. This has been happening to TV actors and actresses from the beginning.

[@bugsyproductions3140]

Why is this framed as the curse has to occur within a few years after Seinfeld ended? That’s intellectually dishonest as is this

[@ScarletRebel96]

I'm never getting that episode on how rich or how poor is Eustace Bagge from courage the cowardly dog am i?

[@WSendam]

The people demand it we need to know ❤

[@ScarletRebel96]

@@WSendam I asked every video for almost 2 years , even a no woulda been better then not hearing anything like I've got

[@kingnaga619]

😂😂😂

[@siebentje]

He said he doesn't enjoy making those videos anymore

[@GlennDavey]

The guy who made this is too young to remember The Dick Van Dyke era of shows where the name of the show wasn't necessarily the name of the main character.

[@jimmythegentconway8690]

And also the Bill Cosby show

[@matthewbolin9646]

It’s pronounced “LOO-ee-DRY-fəss”. The “s” in Louis is silent.

[@PaulColclough47]

Thank you. That was driving me mad. He probably thinks it's a part of her first name but it's a double barrel surname. Her paternal line is French. Also when talking about Elaine, he had a scene with the 3 other cast members and one of Jerry's girlfriends. Made me wonder if the guy who made it has face blindness. Talk about amateur hour.

[@GreetingsFromBlackwoodFarm]

@@PaulColclough47 OK gatekeeper

[@weston407]

look at the cool guy with the schwa over here

[@ogami1972]

@@GreetingsFromBlackwoodFarm yes, correcting pronunciation is "gatekeeping". Tell us some other fancy words you know.

[@GreetingsFromBlackwoodFarm]

@@ogami1972 Ignoramus is a word that comes to mind.

[@Felsoy]

Seinfeld has an all time likeable cast. Favourite show of all time

[@mikicoal]

The Cosby Show was named after the actor and not the character he played had a completely different name. That was pretty successful.

[@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770]

I like to think that there’s an alternate universe where Michael Richards didn’t have the Laugh Factory incident and ended up becoming the most popular celebrity of all time who everybody universally loves.

[@sylph8005]

I doubt it. His career didn’t seem that successful before the controversy anyway

[@mrlofi333]

But it did happen and it was incredibly racist. Stop trying to make up for an asshole.

[@carybeweary7209]

@@sylph8005 there's an alternate universe where The Michael Richards Show lasted for 5 seasons for sure

[@jamesa.romano8500]

@@sylph8005 Yeah tbh I'm even shocked his character on the show got as much of a following as it did. Probably an unpopular opinion but I don't think Kramer really was ever developed that much as a character or as much as the other three and just existed for the physical comedy which my personal opinion is only really funny when its in person or on the stage or something where you can really tell that its improvised and not contrived. Again its probably an unpopular opinion but imo the show generally holds up today but his scenes are the weakest and don't come off as all that funny anymore (it might just be my associating him with the Laugh Factory incident but then I didn't even see the full video until last year and until then had thought it was some out of context thing that wasn't as bad as it really was)

[@entertainingblackmanvideos7691]

No such thing as alternate timelines I do believe people make choices in there lives that can affect there futures

[@notoriouslybratty]

While time has proven it wrong, I remember back in the day people talking about “the Seinfeld curse.” It was constantly talked about the New Adventures of Old Christine which I am sad you didn’t mention.

[@jenniealarid1421]

If youre a millennial or older you surly remember the crazy amount of series’ on Fox in the early 2000s that didn’t make it past the first season. There’s no Seinfeld curse. It’s the curse of not having Larry David. Larry went on to have his own super successful show

[@Boss3Nate]

Seinfeld... Modern Family and The Office never get old. Well the office as long as Michael Scott is in it

[@Merylstreep1949]

The New Adventures of Old Christine was pretty good 👍 plus it introduced Clark Gregg who managed to have a "teeny bit(lol)" of success in the MCU

[@bombabombom3603]

I mean that gripe you had with the Michael Richards Show name can be interchangeable for a bunch of old TV sitcoms, especially Cosby Show. Also I'm surprised you didn't mention Duckman Private Dick/Family Man, because despite that show had ran during Seinfeld and did have a good 3 (out of 4) seasons, it consistently did very poorly in ratings considering it aired at 10 PM on a small cable network no one watched at the time (USA Network)

[@admiralpercy]

All those shows back then had the stars name and a different character name. Cosby Show, Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore...

[@dtpugliese318]

No there’s no curse. Those shows that came in the immediate wake of Seinfeld were just rush jobs that weren’t thought out in order to cash in on the success of Seinfeld. Plus, look at the TV success JLD has had since. She had that one failed show but has had 2, long running and successful shows since Seinfeld went off the air. What kind of curse is that?! Not to mention the success of Curb since 2000, only 2 years after Seinfeld went off the air.

[@MrBaladaum]

9:45 that is not Julia Louis-Dreyfus LOL

[@BrendanPappas]

A lot of shows that have an actor’s name attached to the title actually have a differently named main character. Mary Tyler Moore, Martin, The Michael J. Fox Show. I honestly think it doesn’t make sense either, but it’s not uncommon.

[@jamiemccornack5770]

The Cosby show

[@BrendanPappas]

@@jamiemccornack5770 haha but of course we don’t speak of that one

[@jamiemccornack5770]

@Brendan Pappas haha right? And he also had another show that was just called "Cosby". His name was something different in that one too. The same actress played his wife, but he only had one kid and he wasn't a doctor. I could Google it, but I'm too lazy lol.. point being is that we're both on the same page lol

[@Jackiedyk]

Wow I don't remember these shows that came after Seinfeld. It's pretty common that shows don't work out.

[@isaisalazar1034]

Jason Alexander did a late night cartoon show in the mid 90s called "DUCKMAN" it's severely underrated and I encourage anyone who's a fan of George castanza should watch it ...

[@jjryan1352]

I don't want to be remembered. I want to be forgotten. - George Costanza

[@JGM154]

Considering how frequently he gets fired from his jobs, I feel the need to ask: How broke is George Costanza?

[@NewFalconerRecords]

That reunion of sorts that they did on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' was such an unexpected treat. It was so well done.

[@djcruiselover3827]

OK I’m not sure if you realize this or not but the lady that you were showing on the screen when you first started talking about Elaine is not her.

[@karennaylor7138]

Yes! At 9:47-9:52 was wondering if anyone else noticed that

[@bigyt813]

@@karennaylor7138 that's not Elaine??!!

[@karennaylor7138]

@@bigyt813 No, that’s the episode The Letter, where Jerry’s girlfriend Nina (played by Catherine Keener) tried to get back with him after a fight by writing a letter, which ended up being a scene from a Neil Simon movie (Chapter Two). I can see why it’s confusing though; they have very similar hair 😁

[@bigguy7353]

He never claimed it was.

[@bigguy7353]

@@karennaylor7138 He never claimed it was her.

[@jamescaliri1943]

9:45 that's the actress Catherine Keener, not Julia Louis Dreyfus.

[@BigGiantMonster]

The New Adventures of Old Christine lasted 4 seasons and was hilarious. Yiu didn't even mention it. Wtf

[@TheSickSicks]

Funny how you went to a shot of Catherine Keener when you said "as 'Elaine'... " @9:43 .

[@TargaWheels]

Its typical typecasting. Once they become really well known as one character, they can't do anything else without being known as that character.

[@r0bw00d]

Your gripe about a character not being named after the show _is_ weird, all right. The Dick Van Dyke Show = Robert Petrie The Andy Griffith Show = Andy Taylor The May Tyler Moore Show = Mary Richards The Cosby Show = Heathcliff Huxtable The Steve Harvey Show = Steve Hightower The Michael J. Fox Show = Mike Henry And the list goes on. While the actor, more often than not, retains their first name for comedy shows, "Seinfeld" is the black sheep of the family by having the actor play a fictionalized version of themselves.

[@rheannuhh24]

9:45 isn't Elaine, thats her artist friend

[@darren-lee]

I don't think it's a curse, it's just down to bad choices and writers. The perfect idea for Michael Richards would be carrying on as Kramer in a spin off with Newman as PI's.

[@MetamorphosisRox]

As far as having a show with the star's name but the star having a different name: Bill Cosby Show - Heathcliff Huxtable, Bob Newhart Show - Robert "Bob" Hartley, Newhart - Dick Loudon, Dick Van Dyke Show - Rob Petrie. This was a fairly normal thing to do. They would call the show based on the biggest star but would separate it from him by naming the main character something else. It's a marketing technique. Think Sears naming their tool division Craftsman. They later sold to Black and Decker, yes, but it was the house brand for a very long time. However, the brand can outlive the store. I think the idea was that they could revive the characters without the actors or give the actor a different show without associating their name to it, if that makes sense. Also, I think Vip killed the curse, if there was any. I do agree that the writing in that show was great. I do think it's ironic that if you look at audience sizes now, what would have gotten your show cancelled then is considered a great audience now. Look at the war between Fox and CNN and look at the audience size they are arguing over. It really is small. You would think that they would have recovered thanks to the panini but to see shows like Abbott Elementary get 5-6 million viewers and that is a hit show, it's kind of funny how it all works. Streaming and KZbin have killed the TV star, much like video killed the radio star before it.

[@turdferguson353]

Michael Richards on curb was fantastic. That entire series is the Seinfeld reunion and it's great

[@bigguy7353]

No it isn't. 🤣🤣🤣

[@batgurrl]

VEEP was hilarious and JLD won the well deserved best comedy EMMY every year but the last one, they gave it to an ‘up and comer’. Selena Myer, The Vice President, was actually a truly horrible person. Loved JDL though❤️

[@craigroaring]

The Seinfeld curse is the same as being the first man on the moon curse. In both cases it is near impossible for the person to ever reach such heights. I doubt Neil Armstrong was bothered by the fact that he will never achieve anything greater than being the first man on the moon. All involved with the Seinfeld show have done the comedy equivalent of reaching the moon. Of course they aren't ever going to better that, but there is no reason to see it as a curse.

[@Mislavvvv]

I'd love to be the first man on the moon.. everyone's forgetting the guy who were with him 😪🥲

[@rowdyriter]

the cast also had peter brady syndrome . type cast as kramer and george . jerry and julia i dont think got typed

[@iklull6135]

That one guy really nailed it, the issue is "NOT HAVING LARRY DAVID". it's as simple as that, if LD is behind a proyect you know it's going to be a winner.

[@NotTheLarryDavid]

Thank you.

[@RoseRose-hp4rq]

To me, the only spinoff I would’ve wanted to see is called the Costanza’s. Focussing more on Estelle and frank with George as a secondary character. I think it would’ve been amazing.

[@michaelhayes4537]

To me, Michael Richard's will be "A.G. Pennypacker."

[@henrybierman8431]

I think the name thing is fine. Andy Griffith played Andy Taylor In the Andy Griffith show, and Tom Brady played Jon Heisman in the Brady bunch

[@reputablehype]

I actually liked Listen Up but I'm a sucker for all sitcoms really. The Bob Patterson idea would have worked better today in a KZbin, Crypto, social media guru scam world. A lot more people today are aware of that type of character selling the dream. Also needed some distance from Seinfeld.

[@BrianKishreviews]

9:44 that's Catherine Keener in those shots

[@xDiscipleOfTheWatchx]

How I would have continued without Jerry & Larry David... Have Jason and Michael in their own show living under assumed names. Let's say Newman has convinced them they're being pursued by the Mob and that they have to keep a low profile in a new city. They never refer to one another as Kramer and George, but we know they're playing the same characters. And now and then they bump into an old aquaintance from the show. Remember that run of episodes of Seinfeld where they went to LA? It would be a bit like that. So you have a spinoff without mentioning Seinfeld, and those two can develop and grow their characters. Imagine if 30 years after the Seinfeld days, George has now met a woman with kids from a previous marriage and he's trying to be a dad and failing miserably, meanwhile Kramer keeps popping around and almost blowing his cover. I dunno. I'd watch that over some stupid sitcom where they play an entirely new person, at least I wouldn't be distracted by their typecasting from Seinfeld.

[@hannahhelton3789]

The fact that Jason Alexander won no Emmys is a huge crime.

[@cybercab]

It’s not a curse. It’s just really hard to get a good show. Expecting someone to do it twice in a row is a bit of a stretch.

[@georgeedward1226]

The curse was that they assumed having a former Seinfeld cast member fronting a show was a guarantee of success. Perhaps more effort should have been put into quality in addition to the name recognition.

[@Kirkshelton]

Bob Patterson looks like it's using old Murphy Brown sets.

[@y0uTubeUser138]

I LOVED Watching Elle! Still have them all on VHS. The 2nd season played it safe, and wasn’t as good. But I still love it.

[@erichowry9356]

I own every season on DVD! I still watch them!

[@soyburglar1878]

What’s crazy to me is how wealthy Louis-Dreyfus and Alexander (actually, his last name is Greenspan) are outside of acting. Each of their families are worth billions of dollars.

[@davidl570]

I know Julia's family is, but Jason's..................................?

[@soyburglar1878]

Yeah, I was mistaken about that.

[@davidl570]

@@soyburglar1878 Okay, kind of figured!

[@lougrand7256]

Networks don't have patience and won't allow shows time to grow. They want instant results.

[@forthose_whoslept8136]

I never seen or heard of any of those shows except for Seinfeld

[@cygnusprime6728]

Sometimes a show/movie needs to just end gracefully. Studios need to stop being greedy.

[@Arcane_Cypher]

Jason Alexander also did and does animated voices like Duckman

[@MilkeyMilksCorner]

It sure dosnt feel like 200 episodes I need more !!

[@weston407]

Kramer was great but George Costanza was on another level

[@cosmokramer7396]

In my opinion, if they had made Jason Alexander's first show a seinfeld spinoff and named it "costanza", it would've done better .

[@peoplebiter]

You see the same kind of thing with Dr Who, it was great for many seasons, but when they got new writers and a show runner who were handed something that SHOULD have been beyond their pay grade, it started to fail so they got desperate and tried different things like bringing back OLD actors to old for their roll even though they are great actors. (David Tennant isn't one of the old ones)

[@paulthomson2288]

Title is pure clickbait....Dreyfus starred in Veep which ran for 7 years and was popular. Larry David had his own popular show. Jason Alexander still appears in various roles in movies. Where exactly is the curse?!...

[@ramyarao4499]

Bob Patterson could actually work today tbh...good premise and a great actor

[@garydunn5797]

Mary Tyler Moore played Mary Richards on the Mary Tyler Moore Show. Lucille Ball played Lucy Carmichael and Lucy Richardo on Shows named after Lucy.

[@jroyrodesstuntman]

It's not that weird to have Michael Richards play a character called Vic Nardozza in a show called the Michael Richards Show. This is very common, if not perhaps even the general trend. For example: The Dick Van Dyke Show - Dick Van Dyke plays Rob Petrie Newhart - Bob Newhart plays Dick Loudon The Phil Silvers Show - Phil Silvers plays Sgt. Bilko The Cosby Show - Bill Cosby plays Cliff Huxtable Often they write the character as having the same first name as the actor for whom the show is named, but even then they change the surname more often than not: The Mary Tyler Moore Show - main character = Mary Richards The Andy Griffith Show - main character = Andy Taylor Roseanne - main character = Roseanne Conner (not Barr) Everybody Loves Raymond - main character Ray Barone (not Romano) Actually the list of these (lead actor shares first name but not surname with main character) just goes on and on. Mostly the lead actor is playing a separate character, not themselves. Thus in the Steve Harvey Show, Steve Harvey plays a guy named Steve but he isn't a TV presenter. In the Andy Griffith Show, Andy Griffith plays a guy called Andy but he's a sheriff, not an actor. Seinfeld is probably the exception rather than the rule, in that he's just playing himself almost exactly - famous stand-up comic Jerry Seinfeld - in a fictionalized version of his life. Most other examples of shows named after the star didn't follow this (fairly groundbreaking and meta-comedic) format, but probably just wanted to parade the star's name for name recognition's sake, to pull in viewers and advertisers (or because it is a vanity project for the star). Michael Richards starring as a completely new character in a show called the Michael Richards Show is really following in a grand old tradition. Having said that, this video is the first time I've ever heard of the show so it must have been doing something wrong; if not this, then something else.

[@peoplebiter]

So drawn out. Its called "type casting" Those actors are going to be associated with their more interesting characters so anything less then that will be BORING or just not as interesting and most of the time the writers are going to be mediocre people jumping on board expecting it to work because of previous success which is a failure way of looking at things instead of looking to make something unique and interesting and funny ALL ON ITS OWN!

[@polkarfield]

Cosby Show did the same actor thing as the Michael Richard’s show, although being comparable to the Cosby show isn’t a good thing

[@LilTuba]

Also, Wayne Knight even had a pilot but it didn't get picked up.

[@SC-mp1lh]

I never even knew that you these shows existed.

[@bobbypins1743]

Michael Richards was also in a show called Kristie that was quickly canceled in 2013

[@nostalgiamostalgia0319]

Trina from Victorious was in Listen Up!

[@typine]

The Michael Richards show and The Cosby show and The Donna Reed show are all similarly titled. In that the series are named after there respective stars. But in the show. But I’m the show itself, they have a character name different from their real life names used in the title. It’s weird but not unheard of.

[@astros7242]

Andy Griffith goes by Andy Taylor I guess that’s an in between lol. Same first different last.

[@DenderFriend]

If I had to guess who from Seinfeld would end up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe I would not have expected it to be the one who played Elaine!

[@EduardoNolazco]

You should mention the SNL sketch with Julia telling Jason the curse is off. That's because new adventures of old Christine was a hit

[@rlkinnard]

Dreyfus has been very successful in VP; Curb has been very successful for Larry David; Comedian in Car has also been successful. So what is the talk about the Seinfeld curse?

[@enriquemedina3631]

They probably created the character and concept of the show first. Adding Michael Richards’ name give it more star power. It was called The Cosby Show but his character was Cliff Huxtable. Both men are now controversial, one more than the other for obvious reason.

[@TheDwightMamba]

The Cosby Show was about the Huxtabul family. I never learned how it was spelled, but always found it strange.

[@adamkane4217]

Just an FYI: Julia Louis-Dreyfus' last name is pronounced like "Louie-Dreyfus."

[@user-vi4xy1jw7e]

9:45 did you really get her confused with Elaine? 😂

[@ladylovespie8863]

I've never agreed that Seinfeld was "about nothing"... It about rude New Yorkers navigating life and relationships...

[@DeadPixel1105]

Well said. The episode plots really aren't that much different from any other sitcom.

[@semicharmedlife311]

Julia Louis-Dreyfus also portrays the character Madame Hydra in the MCU.