Twenty-one years after “The Finale” aired on May 14, 1998, Seinfeld has left a remarkable legacy as a revolutionary sitcom that entertained audiences with hilarious comedy and an unprecedented insight into everyday life’s inane and mundane minutiae. So it’s only appropriate for something like Seinfeldia, a book written by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong (Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted), to unpack the series’s eventful history for its devoted fans. Ever wanted to read about the casual chat between stand-up comedians Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David that inspired them to create “the show about nothing”? What about Kenny Kramer, David’s neighbor whose eccentric mannerisms became immortalized in his TV namesake, or the amusing experiences that the writers took from their own lives and turned into plot lines for iconic episodes like “The Contest” or “The Little Kicks”? It’s certainly funny to imagine that talented performers like Steve Buscemi, Tony Shalhoub, and Patricia Heaton were considered for the roles of George Costanza, Kramer, and Elaine Benes. The last few chapters are especially enjoyable, going beyond the show to cover such subjects as the tours given by Larry Thomas, who played the imperious Soup Nazi; a metafictional reunion of the Seinfeld cast in the seventh season of the Larry David-starring HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm; and Chela Holton, who modeled for a poster that advertised the fictional movie Rochelle, Rochelle, to which Seinfeld made multiple references. Who knows, after reading Seinfeldia, I might just have to start binging the whole show on Hulu.
Windup score: 95/100
2 Cents Critic 