'Seinfeld' Was Almost Canceled Before an Episode Ever Aired — Here's How It Was Saved

While Seinfeld ran for nine seasons and almost 200 episodes in the '90s, the NBC sitcom was actually almost canceled before it even aired. Former NBC executive Warren Littlefield was a guest on the podcast The Town with Matthew Belloni on a recent episode. He revealed that while Seinfeld's pilot screened well, "research came in, and it was unbelievably disastrous." When shows were ordered for that fall, Seinfeld was not included.

Rights were expiring, meaning that if they didn't do something soon, Seinfeld would be lost forever. The problem was that there was no more room in the budget. Luckily, NBC had developed a variety of specials, "so I dumped Bob Hope's two-hour birthday special, and from that, I got the money for four episodes," Littlefield shared. "Jerry and Larry were convinced that they would never air. And so they decided that they would make the show for their friends. And they thought at some point in the future, they would have a dinner party and they would say, 'Here's the pilot and the four episodes that NBC never aired.' And all they wanted to do was entertain their friends."

Littlefield continued by saying that focus and that kind of thinking are key ingredients for why they found success. Considering Seinfeld went on for a whopping nine seasons and is still a beloved sitcom today, dumping that Bob Hope special seems to have been a good idea. Not to mention the fact that Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David treated the first few episodes like they were just having fun with it. Which makes the series even better.

Meanwhile, Seinfeld recently teased that something is in the works. Fans have vocalized over the years how much they disliked the finale, which featured Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer in jail after failing to help a citizen in need. Seinfeld admitted that he and Larry David are working on something, but wasn't able to share any more details. So it seems that after 25 years, Seinfeld may finally be coming back. There are many sitcoms that need to be rebooted, and Seinfeld is definitely one of them. Even if it's just for a single special or movie. The series is still being syndicated, which brings in fans old and new. So you never know what could happen. If it can bounce back after getting a very premature cancellation, it can do anything.