Seinfeld fans everywhere were given an amazing gift in 2009 when Curb Your Enthusiasm orchestrated something many thought they'd never see: a reunion special. The season-long arc of the HBO comedy series was all about Larry David trying to get back together with his wife by casting her in a new Seinfeld special, and a biproduct of that narrative was a chance to see Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer all back together again. It was both magical and hilarious.
Reflecting on that bit of TV history, however, one realizes that was over a decade ago, and may also wonder what the characters have been dealing with since then. The chances of us getting another reunion are slim, but in a recent interview with US Weekly Jason Alexander provided a glimpse into what he thinks pandemic life would be like for the legendarily terrible George Costanza. Said the Emmy Award-winning actor,
I mean, you’re assuming he got out of prison? You’d have to think today, because apparently, he made all his money. If you saw the Curb [Your Enthusiasm] reunion, he made all his money with the iToilet app and then lost it to Bernie Madoff. So, my imagining is that George is probably quarantined in with his parents and refuses to leave the room. He only eats through some sort of food app and will not come out of his room.
George Costanza is certainly no stranger to making the last resort move of moving back in with his parents. In fact, it's a huge part of his "arc" in Season 5 of Seinfeld, as he is out of work and out of money after the deal with NBC to develop a sitcom falls through at the end of Season 4. He is eventually able to move out thanks to getting his Assistant To The Traveling Secretary gig with the New York Yankees, but his time spent with Frank (RIP Jerry Stiller) and Estelle Costanza is most certainly a nightmare, as they are deeply unpleasant people.
That in mind, the idea that he would be back in the exact same circumstance more than a quarter of a century later is hysterical.
As terrible as George can be, you can sympathize with him in the situation of having to spend the COVID-19 pandemic with his parents. Continuing his thoughts on the idea, Jason Alexander added that he thinks Frank and Estelle would go overboard with preventative measures, and that George would also be pretty freaked out (referencing a running gag on Seinfeld while doing so):
His parents are wearing 15 masks. He was crazy about Lupus, imagine what he’d do with COVID. He would not be weathering this pandemic very well, I’m sure!
Of course, George Costanza also doesn't live in a world where there are nine seasons of Seinfeld that can be watched endlessly as a distraction from the madness of the pandemic, so that obviously doesn't help anything either. Fortunately, we do, and if you're like me then episodes have been in regular watch rotation since March 2020. The brilliant sitcom is available to stream in its entirety on Hulu, though it will be changing platforms and moving over to Netflix in the coming months.
