Seinfeld is one of American television’s greatest sitcoms of all time. With that rarefied air comes a want to experience more, and while Larry David tried to fill that niche for fans in Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 7, enough is never enough. I wholeheartedly believe that if someone greenlit a Seinfeld movie today, many would be excited. I also believe now may be the best time to do a movie if something like this is ever going to happen.
It’s been 23 years since Seinfeld aired its final episode, but I believe there’s still a market for a one-off movie that effectively and decisively lays the franchise to bed for good. I think some could argue the franchise has already done that, but in 2021, when so many classic shows resurface via lucrative streaming deals, can we really say the book is closed?
Netflix Has The Streaming Rights And Could Host A Movie
Seinfeld has been kicking around on streaming for a while, but now it’s finally locked in at Netflix. With all due respect to the other streamers, Netflix has a lot of eyes on it, and is arguably in one of the best positions to host a follow-up to a beloved franchise. In fact, Netflix has a bit of a reputation for rescuing and reviving television shows, and while I can’t say Seinfeld is in a position where it requires either, it makes the justification for doing so much easier.
Netflix paid an insane amount of money (around $500 million) to acquire the rights to Seinfeld. If Netflix is willing to spend that kind of money on reruns, one has to imagine it’s willing to spend on any new Seinfeld content that could come up. The streamer does seem to have a solid relationship with comedian Jerry Seinfeld at the very least, and has housed comedy specials and other projects of his. Honestly, the guy is making a Pop-Tart movie for Netflix, and if that’s not the indicator or a strong working relationship, I’m not sure what is.
Of course, it takes more than two people to make Seinfeld proper, and Larry David has called HBO his home for a long time now. Granted, a recent episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm featured Larry selling a show to Netflix, which conspiracy theorists could certainly cook up to mean something. I’m almost positive David wouldn’t be so cryptic if he was actually interested in working with Netflix, but it’s certainly something interesting to think about when discussing the possibility of a Seinfeld movie coming to Netflix.
Netflix’s Deal Has Seinfeld Back In The Spotlight
Netflix secured a deal for streaming rights back in 2019, but it wasn’t able to add Seinfeld to its library until 2021. Despite the fact that the series has been on Hulu for years before it, the sudden switch seemingly caused an uptick in Seinfeld’s relevance in pop culture. Even Gen-Z is making references to Seinfeld on TikTok, which has to show it’s getting somewhere in the modern era.
Of course, it’s crazy to say Seinfeld ever left the conversation of pop culture completely. Part of that is likely due to the fact the series went out near the height of its popularity and created a fandom of people who won’t speak ill of the series to this day. Many of these people live amongst us, and soon will make their yearly Festivus reference before fading back into the shadows waiting for the next time to reference the series.
Whether it’s new fans or fans that have been around for years, there’s still a love for Seinfeld in 2021. Enough so that if some sort of movie was announced, I believe it would break the internet. Hell, we still have yet to talk about the numerous Gen-X people who actually watched it on television. I feel relatively certain there’s a considerable audience that would go wild for a Seinfeld movie, especially if it is released on a streaming service they already have.
Revisiting Seinfeld In 2021 Is A Fun Idea
We’ve talked a lot about demand and the right timing for a Seinfeld movie, but not so much about why doing it now would be so great. It’s been a couple of decades since the conclusion of Seinfeld, which feels like the perfect window for a movie revisiting the characters to happen. It’s not so far removed from the late 1990s that the world is entirely unfamiliar, but also, a lot of things have changed since then.
For example, it’s been said a lot of the inane arguments Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer have are all less of an issue when someone has a smartphone on hand to address the real answer in these small arguments. I’d counter-argue that while people may think that, folks still do a lot of arguing in the smartphone era and merely find sources to back up the opinion they wish to state. The world has changed a lot since Seinfeld ended, but I think it would take creative minds like Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David to show us that it also hasn’t.
Fans can brainstorm and talk about what the premise of Seinfeld in 2021 would be all day, and I think the one thing all those ideas have is that they’d be fun. Fun enough that I don’t think you have to worry about tainting the legacy of the series by doing some one-off movie that serves as an elongated Seinfeld episode to answer any burning questions fans may still have about the beloved series. I can’t say it’s something I see happening given Jerry Seinfeld recently went on the record that the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode was the closest the cast will ever come to a reunion, but that doesn’t mean I can’t manifest it by putting the idea out in the universe. This idea is gold, Jerry, gold! Furthermore, it’s something that’s completely in line with something so many other classic sitcoms are doing, so why not join in on the fun?
Seinfeld doesn’t have a movie yet, but perhaps someday that will change. Until that day comes, be sure to stream the series on Netflix, and possibly further prod the pocketbook of some executive hoping to make this reunion happen regardless of cost.
