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Jason Alexander played George Costanza on the hit NBC sitcom,Seinfeld, and to this day is best known for the role. Despite one character and show dominating the rest of his filmography, the role has brought the actor enduring popularity and fame that only a few other actors can boast of.
While the show continues to attract viewers even now, there was once a time when Alexander believed the show would never be able to take off. While the fear did actually come true, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise!
Jason Alexander FearedSeinfeldWas a Lost Cause
WhenJason Alexanderwas first called in to film the pilot ofSeinfeld, he knew the show was brilliant and unlike any other. Yet, he also had doubts and fears that the show might never get off the ground. Hisbiggest concern was that theunconventional nature of the show would lead to its cancellation before it could even get a chance for a full series.
“I’m not arrogant and stupid enough…”: Jerry Seinfeld’s Brutally Honest Reasons For Never Making Another Sitcom After ‘Seinfeld’ Will Make You Sad About One Reality
And that is exactly what happened since NBC initially passed on the show after the pilot aired. In aninterview with Howie Mandel, earlier this year, Alexander revealed,
I thought it would be a pilot and probably that would be the end of it. When we did the pilot… I think we made a show here that the primary audience is for male 18 to about 35, that probably lives in a city, and they don’t watch sitcoms… We didn’t look like anything else that was on the air.
Alexander was not wrong, for not all audience demographics were drawn toSeinfeld. However, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the actor explains,
But before it could officially make it to air, Jason Alexander revealed how a by-chance airing of the pilot to fill an empty slot led to the show getting a full season, and ultimately spanning out to become one of the top sitcoms of all time.
SeinfeldWas Canceled After the Pilot, But a By-Chance Airing Saved the Show
Seinfeldoccupies a separate space in Hollywood’s Hall of Fame for its unconventional storytelling and peculiar characters. Based on the fictional life of the show’s creator and lead,Jerry Seinfeld, the NBC show is now hailed as one of the most influential and greatest TV shows of all time.
“Never said the word”: Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld Used a Sneaky Trick to Cover a Sexually Charged Topic on ‘Seinfeld’ But Couldn’t Avoid Facing the Outcome
However, this greatest show was canceled after the pilot did not sit right with the test audience. Fortunately, an airing of its pilot to fill an empty slot was the best thing that could have happened to the show, as Jason Alexander explained to Howie Mandel.
We did the pilot, and we were released from the pilot… They used to throw the dead pilots on just to fill a time slot. On some night at 10:30, they threw the Seinfeld Chronicle pilot on… And I think it was the TV Guide critic [who] wrote it a love letter— ‘How could NBC be so foolish. This is the newest, funniest thing…’
And so, one thing led to another,Seinfeldwas picked up for four episodes initially, whose test results were just as bad as the pilot. However, it was when they were finally aired that the network realized their mistake. Slowly and one-by-one the seasons got picked up and that is how one of the greatest sitcoms in history came about.
Seinfeldcan be streamed on Netflix.
Maria Sultan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2703
Maria Sultan is a dedicated News Content Writer at FandomWire. With over five years of professional experience and hundreds of published articles, she brings a wealth of expertise to her coverage of Marvel, K-dramas, and the latest on streaming platforms.Her work is not just about reporting news; it’s about providing insightful perspectives on the entertainment trends that matter most.
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