Seinfeld executive producer Jeff Schaffer talks about the show’s controversial series finale. After nine seasons, Seinfeld ended in 1998 with an episode simply titled “The Finale.” It found the gang celebrating Jerry and George’s pilot pickup with a trip to Paris, which is derailed when they’re forced to make an emergency landing. This spirals into Elaine, Jerry, George, and Kramer being arrested for failing to help a carjacking victim, leading to many of the show’s recurring players returning as character witnesses. The group is eventually sentenced to a year in prison. The finale faced criticism from both critics and viewers, who found it a disappointing end.
As part of a retrospective on Seinfeld‘s series finale with The Washington Post, Schaffer discussed the episode. He talked about the tough job finales have due to the emotional attachment viewers have to a series:
Finales are hard, right? Because it’s sort of a betrayal to the audience. You’re breaking up with them. They’re going, ‘You’re leaving me. Why are you leaving me? All I’ve done is love you.’ So you’re already operating in this potential atmosphere of resentment and sadness, because it’s gone, you’re gone.
Seinfeld’s Finale Was Doomed To Be Divisive
Schaffer makes a great point about the inherent challenge in a series finale, which is that audiences go into the episode with a preexisting sadness over the show ending, meaning no matter how great a finale is, it’s bound to be bittersweet. This is especially true with a long-running series like Seinfeld where viewers grow particularly attached to the characters and have higher expectations for the final episode as a result.
Comedies, particularly comedies centered around a group of friends hanging out, have a specific challenge of their own as well. There’s often an expectation that series finales should bring something new and different to the table, which Seinfeld arguably does with the trial. However, a break from the show’s usual status quo was bound to feel jarring and ultimately unsatisfying, which is why many viewers took issue with the characters winding up where they did.
While there have been successful comedy series finales that introduce big changes for the characters, others have implied that they largely just continue as they are. While arguably less exciting, viewers find it soothing to know the characters’ adventures will continue on in the same way they have, albeit offscreen. While a series finale can make or break how a show is remembered, Seinfeld remains a beloved pop culture touchstone despite the controversial end.
Source: The Washington Post
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
