Newman is Back -- Seinfeld's Annoying TV Neighbor Stars In Voting PSA
Well, readers, I finally have some good news to share with you all today -- well, bad news if you happen to be Jerry Seinfeld's character on his self-titled '90s sitcom. Everyone's favorite antagonistic mailman, Seinfeld's Newman, is back, and this time, starring in a PSA from the group PACRONYM about voting in the 2020 election
"Hello, zip codes, and you plus fours -- you know who you are," Wayne Knight says, slipping right into Newman's nuances, a rendition of "Yankee Doodle" playing in the background. "According to this month-old issue of Dr. Roberta Greenburg's Time Magazine subscription, there's been a systematic premeditated assault on the U.S. mail by President Trump and his so-called Postmaster General," He says, spitting from above his lowered mask. "That guy's never even licked a stamp." Yikes, that's saying something from a character who has been described as "pure evil." Knight then continues on, explaining, in his conniving Newman fashion, why voting in this election is just so important -- all between bites of a turkey leg.
Yet this glorious Newman revival almost didn't happen. For years, Knight says he's tried to distance himself from this iconic character, or as he put it, attempting to "let Newman die," thus making Jerry's dreams come true. "I've been so associated with the character that it became somewhat of a lodestone in my mind," the actor told Entertainment Weekly. So what swayed him to join the project, other than the abhorrence of our country's Postal Service saga? The fact that the throwback PSA was penned by Veep Showrunner and Seinfeld writer/editor, David Mandel. "If we could capture the voice, if we get it funny, and we could get the message out, I felt like it would be disseminated in a way that would reach people, and that was what was important," Knight said of his decision.
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Knight also had some reassuring words for viewers concerned about Newman-esque mail carriers potentially interfering with their ballots. "Newman has been trying to subvert the Postal Service for his entire career," Knight pointed out. "He has not been able to do it. It is a well-oiled machine with a couple of bad cogs in it that every now and then get caught. But in general, the thought that you can deliver something to a one-room post office in Alaska for 55 cents is pretty incredible." Damn right.
As Newman taught us 27 years ago, the mail never stops -- but when it does, he'll be there to help it start back up again, in his slimy, Jerry-hating glory.
For more information on registering to vote, click here. For more Seinfeld fangirl-ery, follow Carly on Instagram @HuntressThompson_ and on Twitter @TennesAnyone.
