Initially, Seinfeld met with a lukewarm response, a baffled connection, low ratings and a volatile creator.
So how did it become such a hit?
Pilot performance: WEAK.
The episode had excited lukewarm reactions among adults and teens and very low reactions among kids.
You cant get too excited about going to the Laundromat, as one respondent put it.
The reports conclusion was stark: No viewer was eager to watch the show again.
From flop to enormous, critically acclaimed, cash-printing hit in just under a decade.
How didSeinfeldpull it off?
The research audience werent the only ones unmoved by the pilot.
Before that even, co-creator and later executive producer, Larry David, had heard the shows death knell.
His verdict on whether their pilot would be a hit was, No way.
Before all that though, the show had to decide what it was.
The first idea was for a show about how a comedian gets his material.
Unable to stretch that premise to the planned 90-minute special, the idea for a half-hour series was born.
Rob Reiner at Castle Rock Entertainment pin-pointed the central dynamic that eventually drove the series to success.
Larry and Jerry shared such a great sensibility.
Nobody had even suggested we change it yet, but he was throwing down the meaningless gauntlet.
When changesweremade to the pilot script, David remembers being incensed.
[…] To this day I have a lot of difficulty watching that pilot.
Difficulty characterized Davids response to the success ofSeinfeld, each instance of which appeared to cause him pain.
When season three was ordered at a whopping twenty-three episodes, David report crying tears.
I dont need this, was par for the course.
Jerry, Larry, doesnt something have tohappenin this show?
And neither wouldSeinfeldbe that kind of comedy.
They were self-involved, obsessed with trivialities, and generally despicable.
What are they talking about?
Who cares what lining somebody has in a jacket?
Who cares if they use real turkey for a sandwich?
Why are they so picky?
I read that script and I thought, nothing happens.
Am I missing pages?
Are they trying to save money?
The bottle episode would go on to become one ofSeinfelds best loved instalments.
Tom Cherones knows why.
What are they talking about?
Why are they so picky?
None of that mattered because when the actors would read it, it would befunny.
Comedy wasSeinfelds golden principle; if it was funny, it was in.
Funny ruled, and thats what gave the show longevity.
It was a no-brainer.Cheersprovided the piggy-backSeinfelddearly needed in its early days, much to Larry Davids chagrin.
Davids pride wouldnt get them anywhere.
WhenSeinfeldwas moved to Wednesday nights, its audience dropped significantly.
This story originally ran in November 2014.
Its being repromoted in honor of the first episode of the revamped Seinfeld on May 31, 1990.
