Jerry Seinfeld takes playful jab at ‘Friends’, claims sitcom copied elements of ‘Seinfeld’
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Comedian and actor Jerry Seinfeld recently took a playful jab at the hit sitcom 'Friends,' claiming the series borrowed heavily from his iconic NBC comedy 'Seinfeld' during his appearance at the 'Netflix Is a Joke Festival' in Los Angeles.
The comments were made during his stand-up show at the event, where the comedian reflected on the similarities between the two sitcoms, both of which centered around groups of friends living in New York City. While his remarks were delivered humorously, they reignited the long-standing comparisons between the two classic television series.
Jerry Seinfeld revisits similarities between ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Friends’
During his set, he spoke about how 'Seinfeld' premiered in 1989, while Friends debuted several years later in 1994. According to him, NBC executives may have seen the success of his sitcom and attempted to recreate it with “good-looking people.”
He joked that the network likely thought, “This is working pretty well. Why don’t we try the same thing with good-looking people?” adding that the strategy ultimately “worked.” The show, starring Seinfeld alongside Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards, and Jason Alexander, remained on air for nine successful seasons, compared to 10 seasons of 'Friends' on NBC.
Despite the comparisons, the two sitcoms were known for different storytelling styles. 'Seinfeld' became famous as a “show about nothing,” focusing on everyday observations and awkward social situations, while 'Friends' leaned more heavily into character-driven storylines and romantic relationships.
This was not the first time Seinfeld appeared to credit himself for the success of 'Friends', as actress Lisa Kudrow recalled in a 2022 interview with the Daily Beast that he once approached her at a party in the 1990s and jokingly told her, “You’re welcome” after the sitcom was scheduled immediately after NBC’s highly rated show.
Last month, Kudrow revealed that the cast of the show continues to earn nearly $20 million annually in residuals, more than 20 years after the beloved sitcom concluded its run in 2004. However, she also noted in the same interview that the cast’s experience while filming was not always positive, saying there was “definitely mean stuff going on behind the scenes.”
Recalling the atmosphere on set, she told the Times of London, “Don’t forget we were recording in front of a live audience of 400, and if you messed up one of these writers’ lines or it didn’t get the perfect response, they could be like, Can’t she read? She’s not even trying. She messed up my line."
Jerry Seinfeld reflects on ‘Seinfeld’s’ rocky rise to television success
This is not the first time Seinfeld has poked fun at 'Friends.' In 2024, during a satirical Pop-Tarts video featuring Seinfeld, a character asked him, “Tell me, how does it feel when people steal your ideas and then do whatever they want with them?” to which he jokingly replied, “You mean like 'Friends'?”
Speaking during the taping, he also reflected on the origins of 'Seinfeld,' explaining that the idea for the sitcom emerged after he and co-creator Larry David met as stand-up comics and realized their shared stories could make for compelling television.
According to Seinfeld, they often thought, “If we put this in a show, it’d be hilarious.” The pair also joked about the sitcom’s modest beginnings, with David referring to the show’s original four-episode pickup as the “smallest order in the history of television."
During the discussion, Emanuel pointed out how the series repeatedly changed time slots before eventually securing NBC’s coveted Thursday 9 PM slot. Responding humorously, he quipped, “Can we just say we had a rocky beginning and move on?”
Seinfeld previously reflected on the show’s difficult early days while paying tribute to late filmmaker Rob Reiner in December, following the deaths of Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner. Reiner’s company, Castle Rock Entertainment, produced the sitcom.
Remembering Reiner’s support, he wrote in an Instagram post, “Our show would have never happened without him.” He added, “He saw something no one else could. When nobody at the network liked the early episodes, he saved us from cancellation.”
