The story
Jerry Seinfeld chooses a vintage car to suit each guest, picks up a fellow comedian and drives them out for coffee and, often, something to eat. There is no studio audience and no script, so the conversations roam freely from craft and old routines to family and fame, and the format cheerfully bends whenever an unplanned stop or a chat with passers-by offers something better.
Why it matters
Seinfeld was told by social media advisers that web shows longer than five minutes had little chance, yet his Crackle series ran nine seasons there and had been streamed nearly 100 million times by May 2015. Netflix then took it over from the tenth season, a clear sign that a web talk show could graduate to a major streamer.
From web series to TV
Jerry Seinfeld's talk show premiered on the digital network Crackle on 19 July 2012 and ran there for nine seasons. In January 2017 it was announced that it would move to Netflix from its tenth season, which debuted in 2018; Netflix also added the first nine seasons that January.
Notable facts
- Before launch, advisers including those at Facebook and Yahoo told Seinfeld that web shows longer than five minutes had little chance of success. (source)
- By May 2015 it had been streamed nearly 100 million times. (source)
- Episodes are estimated to cost about $100,000 each, with a three-and-a-half-hour shoot edited down to 12 to 20 minutes. (source)
- A highlight episode features then-president Barack Obama, which opens with Seinfeld knocking on the White House windows. (source)