Seinfeld was one of the most ground-breaking shows in television history. Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David decided to take a chance and explore the comedy that exists within the more mundane aspects of life. Their talent for uncovering these everyday moments of hilarity helped grow the show into the classic it is today.
Audiences were treated to nine wonderful seasons of the misadventures of Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer. Though some seasons highlighted the brilliance of the show better than others, each was a treat to get the see the “show about nothing” do its thing. Here are all the seasons of Seinfeld ranked from worst to best.
9. Season 1
Most shows need a little time to get themselves together. Therefore, the first seasons can be a little uneven as they try to find their footing. That was certainly the case for Seinfeld as the first season was certainly the show’s weakest.
The show’s dialogue and storylines were really different from what was on television at the time, and it seemed like the writers weren’t exactly sure what to make of it at first. With only four episodes, the season barely had time to establish itself, but it was ultimately needed to help the show find its voice.
8. Season 9
Audiences were understandably upset when the show decided to take its final bow in the ninth season. But while it was sad to say goodbye, you could also tell it was time. The show was still one of the funniest things on television, but some of the magic had started to fade.
Season 9 certainly had a lot of highlight episodes, like “The Merv Griffin Show”, “Serenity Now” and “The Betrayal”, which inventively told the story in reverse. But it’s also remembered for the disappointing finale. In the end, still a worthwhile season but a sign that it was time to move on.
7. Season 8
The last two seasons of Seinfeld are generally seen as weaker efforts, if not still highly entertaining. The most likely reason for this is Larry David exiting the show after its seventh season. Without David’s distinct voice, Seinfeld was still a great show, but something was obviously missing.
This season had the difficult task of handling the aftermath of Susan Ross’ death on the show. The season managed to avoid letting things get too grim, but a bit too much focus was given to that storyline. Still, Season 8 delivered great episodes like “The Yada Yada”, “The Little Kicks” and “The Bizzaro Jerry”.
6. Season 2
Coming back after their test-run first season, Seinfeld was now ready to really see what this show could do. There were still a few kinks to work out as the writing was not as tight as it would later become. But the show was definitely starting to settle into its very distinct mold.
There were several highlight episodes, but the clear standout of the second season was “The Chinese Restaurant”. Set entirely around waiting to get a table at a restaurant, the episode showed the full potential of the show. Taking such a relatable situation, it foreshadowed the greatness to come.
5. Season 7
Seinfeld was most comfortable doing one-off stories and excelled at them. But in Season 7, they decided to try a continued story arc throughout the entire season following George’s engagement to Susan Ross. It worked to varying degrees.
On one hand, the new situation that this put the characters in provided a whole slew of opportunities. On the other hand, Susan wasn’t a very interesting character and dropping her in with all these wacky people sometimes ground things to a halt. Still, this is the season that gave us “The Soup Nazi” so it was certainly doing something right.
4. Season 3
Season 3 was the first season that NBC started to see the show for what it could be and became confident enough to order a full season. The creators of the show also became more confident in their work. This is when Seinfeld started to become the show we know and love today.
With interconnecting storylines, quick dialogue and darker comedy, the show was proving itself as something really special. From this essential season came classic episodes like “The Limo”, “The Library” and Keith Hernandez’s memorable guest appearance.
3. Season 6
At the height of its success, Seinfeld was one of those rare shows that didn’t seem to lag. It became the most talked about thing on television, and in its sixth season, it was still giving people something to talk about with each new episode.
The “show about nothing” reputation was in full swing and the show embraced it like never before. They created hilarious and interesting episodes by dissecting the smallest of details that we all have experienced. The show began to be populated with more and more odd characters which helped to add even more life to the whole thing.
2. Season 5
These middle-of-the-run seasons were among some of the best comedy that television has produced. The writing in these specific seasons was so sharp and so different than anything else around that it seemed almost revolutionary. And that’s hilarious given some of the subjects the show was focusing on.
The dangers of conversing with a low-talker. The misadventures of trying to pick up a cake to bring to a party. The show turned these meaningless things into brilliant comedy. And we cannot forget “The Marine Biologist” episode which has perhaps the best comedic payoff in the history of television.
1. Season 4
The fourth season of Seinfeld is the crown of the series for two reasons. The first is that is gave us a legendary episode that instantly cemented itself in pop culture history. Secondly, it featured the show’s best and most daring story arc.
The episode in question was, of course, “The Contest”. A boundary-pushing storyline that set-up so many laugh-out-loud moments. It’s an episode that is still talked about to this day. As for the season’s storyline, it followed Jerry and George attempting to sell a show to NBC about nothing. The strange meta aspect of the story was new and ultimately perfect for the show’s humor. From then on out, the show was a television legend.
