Former “Seinfeld” producer Jeff Schaffer says he has not had any conversations with Larry David about a possible revival or reunion for the NBC sitcom despite star Jerry Seinfeld hinting at a possible new ending.
“‘Seinfeld’ did a reunion. We did it in Season 7 of ‘Curb’ and it was the best way to do a reunion because it was a reunion in service of a comedy story,” Schaffer told TheWrap. “It wasn’t a reunion because we should do a reunion. It wasn’t a reunion because everyone’s bored. It was a reunion because Larry had a really funny idea and a really selfish objective in the show that needed us to do the reunion. It was really complicated and really fun and an amazing memory, but that was the reunion.”
The season, which aired in 2009, sees David attempt to bring Seinfeld, Michael Richards and the rest of the “Seinfeld” cast together for a reunion episode, largely as a ploy to stage his own reunion with his estranged wife Cheryl. The arc played out over the course of the season with Seinfeld, Richards, Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus making multiple appearances. In one episode, Seinfeld notably tells David “we already screwed up one finale, we can’t do another,” in reference to the original ending’s backlash from critics and fans.
When asked if he liked the series ending during a comedy show in Boston in October, Seinfeld said he had a “little secret.”
“Something is going to happen that has to do with that ending. Hasn’t happened yet. And just what you are thinking about, Larry and I have also been thinking about. So you’ll see,” he added.
The finale of “Seinfeld,” which aired on NBC in 1998, saw Jerry, Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), George (Jason Alexander) and Kramer (Michael Richards) sent to prison after breaking the Good Samaritan law. Over 76 million people tuned in live, making it one of the most-watched television broadcasts in history – though many viewers have expressed their disappointment with the way things went down in the 25 years since then.
When asked about the possibility of a new “Seinfeld” ending or reunion, David definitively told Entertainment Tonight, “No. no. no. no.” Similarly, Dreyfus said she had “no idea what the hell” Seinfeld was talking about and Alexander told Extra, “I don’t know anything about it … no one called me.”
Prior executive producing “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Schaffer worked with David on “Seinfeld” Season 6, and would help carry the show through to its series finale after David left following its seventh season. Schaffer would later join “Curb Your Enthusiasm” in its sixth season.
Now, the HBO comedy is set to come to an end after 24 years and 12 seasons – yes, really – and with David headed to prison at the end of the Season 12 premiere and likely to stand trial, maybe we’ll get another reference to that controversial Seinfeld ending.
New episodes of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” Season 12 air Sundays on HBO and Max.
