Jason Alexander Had Two Terrible Ideas for ‘Seinfeld’ Spin-offs
What characters should have received their own Seinfeld spin-offs?
Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld had the correct answer: none. Jason Alexander, who played George Constanza for the sitcom’s entire run, had other ideas. In a 2016 appearance on the Id1ot w/Chris Hardwick podcast, as reported by SlashFilm, Alexander floated two pitches that he believed could have been the next Frasier. Both premises sound like they would have been the next Joey.
First up? “The number one that I thought, through the roof, would’ve been the four parents down at the condo in Florida. That would’ve been unbelievable,” Alexander gushed. “I don’t think (NBC) ever looked at it.”
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The likely reason the network never considered the idea: All four parents were insufferable. Jerry’s dad, Morty, was such a blowhard that he got impeached as president of a condo association. His mom, Helen, is a shoplifter who refuses to step foot in a natural body of water. And the elder Seinfelds are charmers compared to Frank and Estelle Costanza, a couple who never had a conversation that they couldn’t scream.
Individually, the characters are hilarious counterpunches to Seinfeld’s straightman Jerry. But as series leads? Who was the audience supposed to root for? “It would be exhausting. It would be like being in an asylum,” said one Redditor in a r/Seinfeld thread discussing the idea.
“Larry David probably thought, who wants to watch cranky old people yelling all the time?” wrote another fan. “Then he thought of Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
Alexander’s second idea had a slightly better chance of becoming reality. “If they had made a legal comedy, with (Kramer’s lawyer Jackie Chiles) as the centerpiece, that would be absolute gold.”
Terrible. First of all, Jackie Chiles was a funny-ish parody of O.J. Simpson attorney Johnnie Cochran, a reference that would have aged like milk left out on the counter. Second, like Estelle Costanza, a loud, overbearing character is funny as a jolt of comic energy but taxing and tiresome as the show’s main engine.
You know who disagreed? Actor Phil Morris, who yearned to continue playing Chiles in a Seinfeld spin-off. Morris was actively developing the new sitcom for NBC, reported the Chicago Tribune, a legal comedy featuring “a very austere white law firm” where “sparks will fly.”
That’s weird, considering David and Seinfeld have consistently affirmed that Seinfeld would have no spin-offs. Even weirder? Representatives for NBC claimed to have no knowledge of Morris’ plans. “This is the first we’re hearing about it,” an NBC spokeswoman told The San Francisco Chronicle. “It’s news to the network.”
Morris said on BET that Seinfeld was behind the idea, allegedly telling him, “He’s a killer character. Go on and become a big TV star,” according to SlashFilm. But Seinfeld’s supposed endorsement flies in the face of his “no spin-offs” mantra.
Like Jackie Chiles, it sounds like Morris was stretching the truth to win the case for his own show. It didn’t work, leaving Morris to reprise the character for pretzel commercials. Hey, a paycheck’s a paycheck.
