We can stop asking now.
Jerry Seinfeld has been deluged with questions about a possible “Seinfeld” return over the years. But the comedian gave a definitive answer this week as to why it isn’t happening and never will. And the same goes for any other sitcom he might headline. (Watch the video below.)
Howard Stern, who interviewed Seinfeld on his radio show, presumed the reason that the comedian, 66, hesitated to do another standup special or TV series was to avoid the fate of comic greats like Groucho Marx, who worked too far beyond his prime.
“I don’t like seeing old people on TV,” Seinfeld said. “I don’t want to inflict myself on people in a deteriorated state.”
“I am a perfectionist that way,” he continued in a more serious vein. “That’s why obviously I didn’t do another TV series. I’m not gonna try and beat that.”
When Stern said he’d like to hear Seinfeld’s take on the coronavirus pandemic through his comedy, the guest delved deeper into his philosophy of keeping fans hungry.
“I always like to give a little less than you really want,” said the comedian, whose “23 Hours To Kill” standup special is on Netflix. “Like [“Seinfeld”] we could have done one, two, three more years. The reason people still love that show is we didn’t wear it out.”
“I like minimalizing things,” Seinfeld added.
When Stern suggested that overly critical fans might also be a factor, Seinfeld responded: “I don’t care about the world. This is what I like ... They don’t want you catering to them. They want you catering to yourself. That’s your art.”
“Seinfeld,” a classic NBC comedy that focused on a group of neurotic, self-absorbed New Yorkers, ran from 1989 to 1998.