NBC
Sitcoms, a genre of television that is notably structured, require writers to meticulously introduce, escalate, and resolve a situation within a compact 22-minute frame. The goal? To provoke hearty laughter amongst viewers, transforming the show into a must-see event. A mere week separates table read from filming, leaving a narrow window for minor tweaks but hardly enough room for drastic experimentation. The magic is in the script.
This brings us to “Seinfeld,” a series renowned for its apparent spontaneity. Who can forget Kramer’s (Michael Richards) sudden entrances that seemed to defy the laws of Jerry’s (Jerry Seinfeld) apartment? Or Elaine’s (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) iconic shoves that seemed to come out of nowhere? The dialogue, with its unexpected detours, often caught the actors seemingly by surprise.
For those unfamiliar with the workings of sitcom production, it may seem incredulous that the talented foursome of “Seinfeld” did not occasionally resort to improvisation to inject freshness or elevate a scene (like Kramer rescuing the baby from the mohel in the Season 5 episode “The Bris”). But Seinfeld’s response to a question on improvisation in his eponymous sitcom may astonish you.
The surprising truth: Seinfeld was largely devoid of improvisation
NBC
In a 2014 Reddit AMA, Seinfeld unveiled that nearly everything aired over the sitcom’s nine seasons was scripted. As per the comedic legend himself:
“We hardly improvised anything. That’s how talented the actors were – it often seemed like they were improvising. But we knew each other so well that we knew exactly what dialogue would seem organic for them. We understood their speech patterns, both as individuals and as their characters. That’s what made the TV series so entertaining – it was like an ecosystem where everyone fed off each other. The actors inspired the writers, and the writers inspired the actors, resulting in a creative storm.”
TV writers were relatively unsung in the ’90s (the era before Peak Television when viewers got to know about showrunners), but most “Seinfeld” fans are now familiar with the comedic geniuses who conjured such splendid dialogue. With a writing team that included Seinfeld, Larry David, Carol Leifer, Peter Mehlman, Alec Berg, Jeff Schaffer, and David Mandel, it was hard to go wrong.
However, this doesn’t imply the actors didn’t contribute their own unique touches. Richards’ tardiness on a cue in the Season 1 episode “The Robbery” led to Kramer’s trademark entrances, while Louis-Dreyfus’ habit of shoving her male friends at surprising news was the genesis of Elaine’s iconic pushes. The writers, too, made eleventh-hour tweaks occasionally, the most memorable being the parting shot from Jerry’s almost-girlfriend Sidra (Teri Hatcher) in the Season 4 episode “The Implant.” Hatcher revealed to Vanity Fair in 2014 that David handed her the line “They’re real, and they’re spectacular” just before filming. It’s clear that everyone on the “Seinfeld” set was agile-minded, but when it came to delivering the punchlines, they mostly adhered to the script.
Credit: www.slashfilm.com
