Jason Alexander’s Perspective: Seinfeld’s Impact on Television History

Brain BurstJason Alexander’s Perspective: Seinfeld’s Impact on Television History


Calling “Seinfeld” a success story is understating it. But Jason Alexander, who played George Costanza on the show in every episode except one, thinks the series’ success might’ve had bad consequences for the TV industry as a whole. In a Charlie Rose interview from 1998 (the year “Seinfeld” concluded), Alexander walked through the story of how he, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Michael Richards fought for a raise about halfway through the show’s run.

In the interview, Alexander explained how, around season 5 of “Seinfeld”, he, Louis-Dreyfus, and Richards felt “there was no upside” in staying on the show any longer. The success of “Seinfeld” could even be a double-edged sword since they’d be typecast as Seinfeld cast members going forward. His fears ended up being founded; Alexander mentioned in the interview how, post-“Seinfeld”, Louis-Dreyfus has become more than her “Seinfeld” character; she also starred in “Veep” and even guest-starred on “30 Rock” and “Kramer vs. Kramer.”

In addition, Alexander expressed, “we thought it was bad luck being typecast.” They sought a raise about halfway through “Seinfeld” for being typecast, enough to pay for potentially being typecast — something he feels was a type of self-sabotage to their careers. Alexander (who appears thoughtful, soft-spoken, but quietly confident) portrayed the neurotic George Costanza on “Seinfeld”.

Raises often helped to negotiations. Quite famously, he, Louis-Dreyfus, and Richards all get on stage did a hallmark of the financial woes in the TV industry. It means more than just the salaries of the cast — which, increasingly in the 1990s, made them “the most profitable sitcom on television,” they were asking around $500,000 per episode.

They enlisted an agent to help broker their deal — interest in merchandising interests, per example. The contract renewed at about $1 million an episode upfront every year.

Jason Alexander (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn7BDIRUEkw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn7BDIRUEkw&t=457s)

Calling “Seinfeld” a success story is understating it. But Jason Alexander, who played George Costanza on the show in every episode except one, thinks the series’ success might’ve had bad effects for the TV industry as a whole. The trio got their raise, but the big money coming in from syndication meant the agreed-upon number, as the show helped to negotiations. Quite famously, he, Louis-Dreyfus, and Richards all get on stage, $1 million an episode upfront every year. Alexander (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn7BDIRUEkw&t=457s)

They enlisted an agent to help broker their deal — including concerns such as merchandise interests. The contract was renewed at about $1 million an episode upfront every year, $3.5 million for each actor (Alexander, Louis-Dreyfus, Richards, and even Seinfeld) including a profitable show (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn7BDIRUEkw&t=457s)

Alexander: As George Costanza on “Seinfeld”

Jesse Argovitz / Getty Images For example, the disruption made salaries for shows on networks like give-and-take makes the series less about its talent — “Nobody cared about talent anymore!” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn7BDIRUEkw&t=457s)

Instead, arguing their increased pay would be a good investment for its continued success (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn7BDIRUEkw&t=457s)

They got their raise, but the big money coming from syndication meant the agreed-upon number, $1M an episode — between $2.5M and $3.5M a show at the time — went even higher.

Jason Alexander: As George Costanza on “Seinfeld” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn7BDIRUEkw&t=457s)

Alexander: As George Costanza on “Seinfeld” <img src=”https://www.slashfilm.com/img/gallery/why-jason-alexander-thinks-the-seinfeld-cast-ruined-television-forever/l-intro-1729523946.jpg>

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p dir=”ltr”>Calling “Seinfeld” a success story is understating it. But Jason Alexander, who played George Costanza on the show in every episode except one, thinks the series’ success might’ve had bad consequences for the TV industry as a whole. In a Charlie Rose interview from 1998 (the year “Seinfeld” ended), Alexander walked through the story of how he, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine), and Michael Richards (Kramer) fought for a raise about halfway through the show’s run. In the interview, Alexander, 1998, he, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine), and Michael Richards (Kramer) fought for a raise about halfway through the show’s run. Alexander explained how around season 5 of “Seinfeld”, he, Louis-Dreyfus, and Richards felt “there was no upside” in staying on the show any longer. The success of “Seinfeld” could even be a double-edged sword since they’d be typecast as Seinfeld cast members going forward.

His fears ended up being founded; Alexander mentioned in the interview how, post-“Seinfeld”, Louis-Dreyfus has become more than her “Seinfeld” character; she also starred in “Veep” and even guest-starred on “30 Rock” and “Kramer vs. Kramer.” They enlisted an agent to help broker their deal — including concerns such as merchandise interests. The contract renewed at about $1 million an episode upfront every year.

Alexander: As George Costanza on “Seinfeld”

Calling “Seinfeld” a success story is understating it. But Jason Alexander, who played George Costanza on the show in every episode except one, thinks the series’ success might’ve had bad consequences for the TV industry as a whole. In a Charlie Rose interview from 1998 (the same year “Seinfeld” concluded), Alexander walked through the story of how he, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine), and Michael Richards (Kramer) fought for a raise about halfway through the show’s run. Alexander (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn7BDIRUEkw&t=457s)

They enlisted an agent to help broker their deal — including interests in merchandise. The contract renewed at about $1 million an episode upfront every year.

In 1998 (the same year “Seinfeld” concluded), Alexander (who appears thoughtful, soft-spoken, but quietly confident, the complete opposite of the neurotic George) portrayed the neurotic George Costanza on “Seinfeld”.

They got their raise, but the big money coming in from syndication meant the agreed-upon number, $1 million an episode, went even higher.

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p dir=”ltr”>Jason Alexander: As George Costanza on “Seinfeld”

Jason Alexander, who portrayed George Costanza on “Seinfeld”, expressed concerns in a 1998 Charlie Rose interview that the show’s success was negatively affecting the TV industry. He, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine), and Michael Richards (Kramer) fought for a raise about halfway through the show’s run as they feared being typecast as Seinfeld cast members moving forward. Their concerns were founded, as post-“Seinfeld”, Louis-Dreyfus has become more than her “Seinfeld” character.

They sought a raise about halfway through “Seinfeld” for being typecast, asking for a share of an increased amount due to syndication profits. They initially asked for cost reimbursements, but NBC refused until the season renewal. Eventually, they receive a $600,000 per episode agreement.

Jason Alexander: As George Costanza on “Seinfeld” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn7BDIRUEkw&t=457s)

They argue that their increased pay would be a good investment for the show’s continued success. The show was the most profitable in syndication, and consequently, their requested raise led to bigger salaries for stars across other shows, illustrating a shift in the industry where talent was less about what made the show unique, but more about the profitability it brought. Alexander: As George Costanza on “Seinfeld” <img src=”https://www.slashfilm.com/img/gallery/why-jason-alexander-thinks-the-seinfeld-cast-ruined-television-forever/l-intro-1729523946.jpg> (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn7BDIRUEkw&t=457s)

What do you think? Share your insights and join the discussion in the comments below!


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