Every single week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your time is valuable.
Deadpool & Wolverine is aiming to resurrect the MCU like “Marvel Jesus,” but the Merc With The Mouth might be distracted with some claws to the #*&@. Fortunately, other backup mutants have arrived as reinforcements in this Disney+ series, which throws back to the uncanny 1990s era. In the process, the mutants will protect those who despise them in this series that acts as a fresh-juice infusion for the nerd contingent.
Robert Downey Jr. is getting his espionage on (watch out, The Night Agent) while taking on four roles including film director, professor, congressman, and CIA operative. This series adapts Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a Vietnam War-era spy (portrayed by Hoa Xuande) who takes up refuge in Los Angeles, and RDJ’s characters are pivotal along the way. The tone is satiric, so get ready to embrace the unembraceable while marveling at the newly crowned Oscar winner’s range.
This limited series (and the streaming service has not hinted otherwise) follows Andrew Scott as the Patricia Highsmith character previously portrayed by Matt Damon on the big screen. However, this series adopts a different aesthetic bent than the sun-dappled 1999 production starring Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow. Still, the psychological thriller aspect remains within the more closed confines of the small screen. The results, which partially roll out like a film noir tribute, are astonishing.
7. Late Night With The Devil (Umbrella Entertainment film streaming on Shudder and AMC+)
This Stephen King-approved horror film stars David Dastmalchian as Jack Delroy, a late 1970s Johnny Carson rival whose ratings have fallen into Hell, so he ends up (as the title suggests) courting true evil on his show in an attempt to bring the show’s black magic back. Remember the found footage trend in horror films? This movie does things right in that department.
This series has now come to an almost-certain end after arguably delivering the most lushly rendered series in this era of “epic” TV productions. May Cosmo Jarvis forever be a household name for his performance in this superior adaptation of James Clavell’s most well-known novel. Then there’s the most refreshing part of this series: despite too many characters to count and a wide array of historical narrative twists, this series isn’t difficult to follow. That’s (part of) the beauty of how deftly this show weaved in exposition, so that it feels authentic, which is no small feat on several levels for this iconic story.
Idris Elba reprises the beloved role that he originated in Sonic The Hedgehog 2 to bridge the gap ahead of the third movie while taking up the magnificent feat of preparing another Echidna warrior. Man, CGI/live-action combos have come a long way since James Marsden starred in Hop.
Lily Gladstone is following up her arresting Killers of the Flower Moon performance in this true-crime series adaptation of the late Rebecca Godfrey’s same-named book that dives tail first into 14-year-old Reena Virk’s murder after it flipped a Canadian town on its head. The story carries some Sharp Objects flavor with True Detective vibes alongside its real-life origins. Riley Keough portrays Godfrey, and Gladstone suits up as a cop as the two women take different approaches to the pursuit of justice.
Gamers were undeniably thrilled to binge the entire season in one serving, but the downside is that the wait for a second season might feel longer. Walton Goggins steals the show, like he always does, as the nose-free character of The Ghoul. Yes, he’s missing a nose, but he’s not missing the classic Goggins charisma that oozes into every nook and cranny of the souls that he inhabits. This series also joins the unprecedented wave of successful video-game adaptations that have been handed to audiences with Hollywood finally getting things right in this realm.
2. Anyone But You (Sony Pictures Releasing film on Netflix)
Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell totally knew what they were doing with those dating rumors, and honestly? Good on ’em. The pair has made romcoms viable in theaters again to the tune of $218+ million globally, so let’s hope that Hollywood seizes the moment in a proper way and doesn’t learn the wrong lessons. We need chemistry, people, and we get it with Sweeney and Powell pretending to hate each other but (of course) falling hard in the end. It doesn’t hurt that both leads are easy on the eyes, and long live sleeper movies as the most pleasant surprises in cinema.
Richard Gadd created and stars in this brilliant (although triggering) project that adapts his one-man stage play about his real-life experience of being raped before landing in a traumatic spiral, where a stalker felt free to insert herself. That’s an oversimplistic description of a nuanced series from the Scottish comedian, who embodies Donny with heartbreaking touches also laced with dark comedy. Gadd has cautioned viewers to cease attempting to unravel the true identities of those who plagued him, and if you haven’t watched this series yet, be ready to feel both horrified and spellbound by how Gadd lays himself bare to the world.
The absolute best part of the NFL Draft is seeing guys react to the best news of their lives. More than anything else, the event is the culmination of everything that has gone into a football player’s career up to that point — all the tough practices, all the big games, everything that goes into being a great football player is done with the hopes that you’ll get to play in the NFL, and during one weekend in April, you take your biggest step in that journey.
Camera crews have gotten very, very good at capturing the most emotional moments from this weekend, and fortunately, the folks with the Los Angeles Rams were able to grab an incredibly special clip involving a pair of college teammates. The Rams selected Florida State edge rusher Jared Verse with the 19th overall pick, and on Day 2, the team traded up to acquire one of his college teammates, defensive tackle Braden Fiske. The phone call where Fiske learned about this, well, let’s just say it was special.
Verse showing up just in the nick of time to hop on the call and share this moment with Fiske (who he did seem to know was on the other line) was something really special, and seeing Fiske start to well up with tears made the moment even better. This is what the NFL Draft is all about.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are one game away from reaching the second round of the NBA Playoffs thanks to their second consecutive dominant performance against the New Orleans Pelicans. Where the first game was a nail-biter in the West’s 1-8 matchup, Games 2 and 3 have been all Thunder, as they’ve been able to establish an offensive rhythm while maintaining an elite level of defensive intensity.
In New Orleans for Game 3, it was a balanced effort as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, and Jalen Williams all scored over 20 points in the win, Lu Dort hit four threes, and Chet Holmgren had four blocks, as OKC continues to be able to trust it will get strong contributions from its entire starting five. That’s been the case all year and is the byproduct of some incredible internal development from all five players over their time in Oklahoma City.
Williams is in his second season, and while he was terrific as a rookie, he has taken another leap in his sophomore campaign to be a legit No. 2 alongside SGA. He has forced the league to take notice of his play, and while he’s earned praise from prominent figures around the league for his play, not everyone is on board with his off-court style.
On Saturday, during halftime of Game 3 between the Celtics and Heat, they showed a clip from Williams’ postgame presser and Charles Barkley was in complete disbelief at Williams’ look.
After 11 consecutive losses, the Los Angeles Lakers have finally toppled the Denver Nuggets. After blowing double-digit leads in each of the first three games of their first round series with Denver, the Lakers were able to not only build a big lead in Game 4, but hold onto it for a 119-108 win.
The first half followed a similar script to the first three games, with the Lakers establishing a 13-point lead at the half thanks to a tremendous start from their stars. Davis continued his trend of huge first halves, scoring 17 points and pulling down 11 rebounds in the first 24 minutes, while LeBron added support to help L.A. put up 61 in the first half.
They also got help early from Austin Reaves, who had a personal 7-0 run in the second quarter to help open up the lead after Denver had whittled it down.
Austin Reaves goes on his own 7-0 run… scoring back-to-back buckets + 2 FT’s
The real question was whether they could prevent the third quarter onslaught from Denver that had defined the series. It looked like the Nuggets were going to do it again, getting the Lakers lead down to as few as seven with a few minutes left in the third, as Michael Porter Jr. and Nikola Jokic led the charge.
Jokic hits the high arching triple to beat the shot clock
However, unlike in the previous games, the Lakers had a response ready. D’Angelo Russell, who had a scoreless, 0-for-7 performance in Game 3, bounced back in a big way to hit a number of big buckets in Game 4 to keep Denver from gaining control of the momentum going to the fourth, as the Lakers were able to maintain an 11-point edge.
DLO snatches the behind the back and knocks down the middy
Every time Denver seemed to be closing the gap, the Lakers had a response as, for the first time really all series, they were able to combine timely stops with consistent offense — with LeBron serving as the closer.
Denver did get the lead down to seven in the final minute, but they just could not create the massive run needed to steal another one from L.A. Jokic finished with a huge triple-double (33 points, 14 assists, 14 rebounds) and Porter Jr. was terrific (27 points, 11 rebounds), but the Nuggets were just not as crisp as we’re accustomed to on the offensive end. They struggled finishing around the rim, got absolutely nothing from their bench, and could not get key rebounds for the life of them.
While Davis wasn’t a huge offensive factor in the second half, he continued to dominate on the boards, finishing with 25 points and 23 rebounds. LeBron led the way in scoring with 30, while Reaves and Russell both had 21 points to provide a hugely important boost that had been missing in previous games.
Denver will certainly need to be more attentive and sharper on the details in Game 5 if they’re going to finish off this series and not have to return to Los Angeles. The Lakers will feel like they have a good plan for Denver and finally got some confidence for their supporting cast that they can contribute in a big way. Now, whether they can do it for a second straight night remains to be seen, as they had that in the gutting Game 2 loss in Denver and then laid an egg in Game 3.
The Denver Nuggets pushed their escape artist act against the Lakers potentially too far in Game 4, as they once again fell behind by double digits but this time looked particularly listless for the first two-plus quarters of action.
None of the Nuggets, even Nikola Jokic, were on their game and the result was a much harder time erasing the deficit than in their first three wins in the series. Even with an off night from Jokic (missing 10 of his first 17 shots), the presumptive league MVP did produce a spectacular highlight, albeit one that happened on accident, during Denver’s third quarter push to make things interesting.
Down 10 in the third, Jokic forced a steal that got corralled by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who looped a pass over Jokic’s head as he ran out for the fastbreak. The problem was, Jokic was not looking for a pass and had no idea the ball was being lobbed over his head until KCP yelled at him from behind, prompting him to duck. Once the ball landed, though, Jokic’s insane instincts kicked in and he calmly slapped the ball to Michael Porter Jr. for a dunk.
I mean, c’mon, man. To go from having no idea where the ball is — even ducking to avoid it hitting you in the head — to slapping the ball to a wide open teammate all in one motion is outrageous.
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) April 28, 2024
If anything, Jokic being lost made it an easier fastbreak because Taurean Prince darted over thinking, surely, he was going to get an easy steal, only for Jokic to reach a big paw out there and knock it over his head right into Porter’s hands for the easy dunk.
After a stunning Heat win in Game 2 when they set a franchise record for threes made in a playoff game, the Celtics needed to bounce back in Miami in Game 3 to regain home court advantage. Not only was it important to win, but the Celtics really needed an emphatic win to snuff out any hopes the Heat had of suddenly making it a competitive series beyond their hot shooting night.
Boston accomplished that mission on Saturday evening, as they dominated the first half and cruised to a 104-84 win that re-established order in the series. In the first quarter, neither team could get much going offensively, but the Celtics were able to open up a 21-12 lead as they suffocated the Heat defensively. In the second quarter, things went from bad to worse for Miami, as Boston’s offense got rolling, headlined by some strong shooting from Jayson Tatum, as they piled up 42 points in the frame to open up a 24-point halftime lead.
In the second half, the Celtics let off the gas on offense but continued to give the Heat fits with their defensive effort, as Miami shot just 41.6 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from three on the night. For Boston, it wasn’t quite as dominant a performance as Game 1 but they certainly righted the ship and got both of their stars going, as Tatum and Brown had 22 points each.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led the charge for the Celtics in Game 3 as BOS takes a 2-1 series lead!
They got support from Kristaps Porzingis (18 points) and Derrick White (16 points), and now have reclaimed home court with one more game left in Miami. It certainly seems like Miami’s chances come down to getting hot from three, but that task is made even more difficult when Boston’s defense extends higher as they did on Saturday to prevent the wide open looks Miami created in Game 2. Still, the Celtics will need to maintain focus on the task at hand and not look too far ahead if they want to create a series clinching opportunity when they return to Boston for Game 5.
The New Orleans Pelicans have not performed well in the last two games of their series against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, losing Games 2 and 3 by a combined 53 points. While it’s not surprising to see the Thunder up 3-0, after Game 1 was such an incredible back-and-forth affair, there was hope that New Orleans would make things interesting and compete with OKC.
Instead, they’ve been outclassed the last two games and seem overwhelmed by the Thunder on both ends of the floor. Their effort in the second half back home in Game 3 was particularly weak, as they never mounted anything approaching a comeback after the Thunder opened up a 20-point lead. The body language during OKC’s run was so bad that even Kevin Harlan on the broadcast called it out, and after the game the fellas were disgusted on the Inside the NBA desk.
Shaq noted his disappointment and then Charles Barkley had the big fella doubled over in laughter as he ranted about how the Pelicans don’t even deserve plane tickets to Cancun. Instead, he said New Orleans should drive down to Galveston, roasting the Texas beach town for its “dirty water.”
There are few things better than when Chuck gets on a roll roasting a town and causes a laughing fit by Shaq. Usually it’s San Antonio that’s the Texas town that ends up in Barkley’s crosshairs, but this time he decided to tee off on Galveston and had Shaq howling on the other end of the desk.
The Miami Heat were not expected to be competitive in their first round series against the Boston Celtics this year, as the rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals featured the two teams in very different situations. Boston, the East’s top seed, has their full squad healthy and boasted the NBA’s best record. Miami, who got the 8-seed through the Play-In for the second year in a row, is without star Jimmy Butler due to a knee sprain and is also missing their biggest in season acquisition, as Terry Rozier has a neck injury.
Despite all of that, the Heat were able to go into Boston and steal homecourt advantage with a stunning performance in Game 2, setting a franchise record for made threes in a playoff game. After that game, Jimmy Butler trolled the Celtics on Instagram, and clearly enjoyed seeing his teammates continue the tradition of torturing this Boston team without him.
However, in the days since that win there has been almost no conversation about Miami regarding that win, as the focus has been entirely on the Celtics and what they do and don’t need to adjust to. It was a wild shooting night from the Heat, and there are only so many adjustments they can make given their personnel, so it does make sense that most of the analysis was on what Boston should do differently going forward. Butler, unsurprisingly, didn’t appreciate that and he spoke with TNT’s Chris Haynes during the first quarter of Game 3 in Miami (debuting his latest hairstyle in the process), making clear he was “tired” of hearing about Boston after Miami’s tremendous performance and stated for the record that the Heat were about to go up 2-1.
“If I gotta hear one more praise about Boston on national tv when we win a game, I’m tired of hearing that, man.” @ChrisBHaynes caught up with Jimmy Butler during Game 3 pic.twitter.com/UcmHLjEHXS
It’s what you’d expect Jimmy to say to that question, and I never fault athletes for expressing their confidence even in the face of dire odds from an objective standpoint. They should feel that way, and Butler also has a message to deliver to his teammates that even without him, getting one win isn’t the goal, it’s to win the series. Unfortunately for Butler’s prediction, the Heat came out and could only muster 12 first quarter points as the shooting from Game 2 did not carry over early in Miami.
After Game 1, it looked like we might be in for a barn burner between the Thunder and Pelicans, as the two teams played in a spectacular defensive battle that saw OKC escape with a 94-92 win. However, in the ensuing two games it looks more like the opener was a mirage created by playoff jitters, as the Thunder have reminded everyone why this is a 1-8 matchup with back-to-back dominant performances.
The Pelicans put up a good fight for most of the first half as they returned home to New Orleans for Game 3, going on a mid-second quarter run to trim OKC’s advantage to 40-39 with just under five minutes to play in the second quarter. From there, the Thunder showed off the extra gear they have that this Pelicans team simply does not (especially with Zion Williamson out), going on a 20-7 run to close the half and take a 14-point lead into the break.
It was a two-way effort that got Oklahoma City breathing room, as Chet Holmgren was tremendous protecting the rim, and Lu Dort caught fire from three.
In the second half, the Thunder had it in cruise control, keeping the Pelicans at arm’s length throughout and never giving them any belief that they might be able to make a comeback. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (24 points, 8 assists, and 4 steals), Jalen Williams (21 points, 9 rebounds), and Josh Giddey (21 points, 8 rebounds) led the way for OKC, while Dort (12 points on 4-of-8 from three) and Holmgren (4 blocks) provided support.
SGA gets the steal and lays it in on the other end to push OKC’s lead in the 3Q on TNT! pic.twitter.com/P9lCcDlOhn
As has been the case all series, the Thunder’s length and activity on the defensive end gave New Orleans fits. Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting, but the other three that hit double figures — Herbert Jones, Trey Murphy III, and CJ McCollum — all struggled with efficiency. As a team, the Pelicans shot just 38.2 percent from the field and, for some reason, kept trying to summit Mt. Holmgren to no avail.
With a 3-0 lead, this series now feels like a formality, and the Thunder will look to break out the brooms and polish off a sweep on Monday night at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Time has been kind to Seinfeld (which debuted more than 30 years ago as The Seinfeld Chronicles). It’s still relatable, it’s still clever, and with star Jerry Seinfeld about to release his directorial debut (Unfrosted, a satire of corporate biopics about the creation of the pop-tart) and Seinfeld‘s influence on the Curb Your Enthusiasm finale, it’s also weirdly still relevant, with people gobbling up reruns on Netflix regularly. All of this makes picking the top episodes so hard: there really aren’t that many that feel hollow or which don’t deserve some kind of lengthy tribute. Still, we wanted to break down those that still stand out for their contribution to the show’s legend and television as well as the ones that still generate the most laughs and we had to put the cutoff somewhere.
To be sure, this is a highly subjective endeavor. You’ll see episodes on this list that you probably haven’t seen on other lists like this and there will be choices and rankings that you may not agree with. In the end, however, this is mostly an effort to celebrate Seinfeld and riff on its goodness.
A note on timing: this is an expansion of the original list that ran a few years ago. We might just keep adding to it, so if your favorite isn’t represented, give it time and let us know on social.
20. The Fix-Up (Season 3, Episode 16)
NBC
The Story: An expanded PSA about the dangers of using a condom pulled from a paper bag as Jerry and Elaine insert themselves into George’s love life.
Why It’s On The List: There are episodes of Seinfeld that feel a little un-Seinfeld: Jerry and Elaine trying to make a go of it as a real couple again, the gang trying to do good deeds by helping a trio of old people, the series finale. “The Fix-Up” is another, focusing largely on George’s romantic dry spell and Jerry and Elaine’s attempt at playing matchmaker. To be fair, they’re pretty hands-off as TV matchmakers go, but the idea that they’d care enough to hatch the plan in the first place feels like a stretch and like the kind of conventional sitcom character behavior that the show typically thumbed its nose at. That doesn’t mean it’s not highly effective television, it just feels odd.
Credit guest star Maggie Wheeler for that. Before she became cemented in everyone’s minds as Janice on Friends (Oh… My… God), she popped up on Seinfeld as Elaine’s sardonic and single friend. The divide between those two characters is a testament to an actress who probably got pigeonholed by the popularity of that other character, but wow is she a great match for George here. Seinfeld only did long-term couples twice with George/Susan and the Puddy/Elaine on and off and on again relationship, but of all the one-off affairs that the main characters had with a parade of guest actors, Wheeler might be the most one that got away of the bunch. I would have loved to see so many of the Susan storylines in her hands, specifically the-death of independent George. Though the universe usually had a way of putting George in his place, it would have been amazing to see Wheeler’s character get more chances to beat it to the punch.
19. The Pick (Season 4, Episode 13)
NBC
The Story: Kramer’s shot at fragrance fortune is thrown into jeopardy, as is Jerry’s shot at a continuing relationship with a supermodel from an episode down near the top of this list.
Why It’s On The List: Part of Seinfeld’s charm is that, for the most part, you can stumble onto any episode and enjoy it without an atlas describing exactly what phase of their lives the characters are in or where things stand in that season’s arc. To a degree, these episodes function as barely connected sketches. I love that, but I also enjoy the way the show puts down a thread and picks it back up with some level of randomness. Lives aren’t tightly constructed plays. Relationships and endeavors can sit on a shelf. Seinfeld got that, and it’s on display here as we’re made to recall Kramer’s efforts to sell a cologne that smells like the ocean and Jerry’s developing relationship with the model he meets on the plane in “The Airport.” It’s like a little treat for those of us who have been paying attention, but not required reading because the backstory is so quickly and cleanly handled.
As for standout moments from this episode, you can’t go wrong with Jerry’s impassioned speech referencing The Elephant Man while defending the rights of nose pickers everywhere. Jerry gets a lot of crap for being the weakest actor in the cast, but while he didn’t have as broad a range as his colleagues, he got better and better as the show went on and really put his back into moments like this.
18. The Junior Mint (Season 4, Episode 20)
NBC
The Story: A former hospital-bound boyfriend of Elaine’s becomes newly appealing to her after losing a bunch of weight before Jerry and Kramer almost kill him in the most refreshingly weird way.
Why It’s On The List: The moment, here, where Jerry and Kramer track the soaring Junior Mint as it heads toward Elaine’s ex-boyfriend’s open bodily cavity is one of the show’s best slapstick moments. Absurd and wonderful, the whole thing sets off a panic in these two idiots that’s a delight to watch as they wait to see if they actually killed this guy – paying off George’s bet on dead artist futures.
The Mulva mix-up is minor by comparison, but a great meta-comment on Jerry’s hollowness (and likely sexual ineptitude) when it comes to his love life. As per usual, no lessons are learned, but it’s great to see him try to figure out a way to solve the puzzle of his girlfriend’s name. Especially with a murder by mint case hanging over his head.
17. The Boyfriend (Season 3, Episodes 17 & 18)
NBC
The Story: A two-parter, Jerry falls hard for a friend crush and Unemployed George does everything in his power to stay on the government teet.
What It’s On The List: Baseball legend Keith Hernandez is fantastic as the object of both Jerry and Elaine’s affections, but it’s the dip into parody of the film JFK that makes this episode. With Seinfeld again acting above his weight class, we get a flawless reenactment scene in what feels like a tacked on story about why Kramer and Newman hate Hernandez, wrongly thinking he spit on them after a game in the ‘80s. Jerry getting all wrapped up in the emotion of being seen by his baseball hero and then outraged by a friendship level jump is great, also. Sadly, friends the world over never took the lesson from the show about just hiring movers over thinking manual labor exists as a perk of friendship.
Also, a little praise for the best George, Unemployed George, the King of Losers. His survival instincts were on full display when he was out of work and seemingly out of options. Here, he’s prostituting himself out to the daughter of the woman holding George’s benefit future in her hands after his doomed effort to make Vandelay Industries into a thing. George, laying face down and pants down on Jerry’s floor, failed in his effort to pull off his latest scheme provides a perfect a visual of George. As perfect as Jerry’s read of the situation: “And you want to be my latex salesman?” Friendship is many things, but a never ending chance to give our friends hell when they’re down? Absolutely. Or at least, that’s what Seinfeld taught me.
16. The Baby Shower (Season 2, Episode 10)
NBC
The Story: Jerry is distraught over not being able to watch the Mets on TV but has second thoughts over Kramer’s scheme to hook him up with stolen cable. George plays a long game to get revenge over a date gone bad from years before while Elaine tries to impress one of her elitist friends from a time before she decided to slum it with the boys.
Why It’s On The List: Elaine is, inarguably, a better person than Jerry, George, and Kramer. She has a finer upbringing, better prospects, and something approaching empathy and self awareness, at least compared to the psychopaths, liars, and moochers she hangs around with. There are several episodes where we see Elaine longing for a life outside of the group. She’s desperate for it, lowering herself for a snobby performance artist who oddly tasks her with throwing a baby shower. It’s not Julia Louis Dreyfus’ most dynamic work, but it adds a tinge of sadness to Elaine’s story even in an early series episode.
George as a sad sack is nothing new and he also lowers himself in the presence of Elaine’s fancy friend, who once threw chocolate sauce on him in the midst of a show while on a date with him. His plan to finally tell her off should resonate with anyone who has ever wanted to say the exact right thing to someone who wronged them (an idea paid off hilariously in “The Comeback” years later). The star of the episode is actress Margaret Reed, who plays someone Jerry dated and tossed aside. Her embarrassing and ferocious verbal takedown of him, using words George had planned, rings in the ears. It’s another example of the writers winking at Jerry’s dating carousel.
As for Jerry, his high moment comes in the violent dream sequence. It’s a suspension of reality that the show rarely did, but worth it for the over-the-top Godfather toll plaza level visual of Jerry being gunned down and Kramer’s over-acting as he holds his bullet riddled body, calling him his little Cable Boy.
15. The Bubble Boy (Season 4, Episode 7)
NBC
The Story: A trip to a cabin proves disastrous as a bubble boy clings to life and angry villagers (and diner patrons) run the gang out of small-town New York.
Why It’s On The List: The randomness of it all? Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, and the show’s writers excelled at minimizing the shock of an absurd situation to nestle it nicely into the world they were building. It all connected and made sense, somehow. A dickhead in a bubble, a diner misadventure, and eventually a cabin on fire that ties to another all-time episode on this list. Sure.
14. The Bris (Season 5, Episode 5)
Sony
The Story: Outer fringe friends Stan and Myra (and they were never heard from again) have a baby and bestow the awesome honor Godfatherhood on Jerry while Kramer gets wrapped up in a possible conspiracy to conceal the existence of a Pigman at a New York Hospital. Naturally, George finds a way to get screwed over by life.
Why It’s On The List: A mohel channeling Rodney Dangerfield is a special treat, as is the Pigman and Kramer’s infatuation with the idea of him. But George, poor bitter and callous George. How he lays out the case for why the hospital should pay for his caved in car (because a patient leapt off the top of said hospital landing on said car) is so respectful yet wormy that it becomes captivating. We will discuss the sheer heights of George’s bullshit powers later, but for now, I’m more fascinated by the depths because his willingness to go down with the attempt despite lasers being stared through him shows a level of indifference toward the awkwardness of that moment that I wish I could nip.
13. The Dinner Party (Season 5, Episode 13)
Sony
The Story: Jerry and Elaine’s patience is tested as they endure the rarely matched hell that is waiting in line in a New York bakery while George and his big fat coat wreck a liquor store before he gets tossed out in the cold to deal with not Sadam Hussein.
Why It’s On The List: Seinfeld‘s relatability is part of its charm but there isn’t a soul who wouldn’t opt for George’s suggestion that they all go in on some snack cakes and soda after the second time in line or finding the hair in the first babka or witnessing the woman behind the counter’s hacking cough. Still, everything that happens here is evidence that going out of your way to adhere to supposed social niceties is a step toward pain and some kind of universe-authored corrective action against bad instincts masquerading as politeness. The line, the hair, the cough, the toe crushing weirdos — it’s an honest to goodness nightmare factory masked by the illusion of sugary bliss. Even the black and white cookie, majestic staple of New York delis and bakeries, betrays Jerry, causing him to break a 14 year long vomit streak. Which, ironically, is something I can relate to having proudly boasted about my own nearly as lengthy vomit streak on many occasions. But anyway, this might be the closest thing to a horror episode in the Seinfeld canon and so it earns a spot of prominence.
12. The Library (Season 3, Episode 5)
NBC
The Story: Jerry tries to work through his memories and his high school little black book to recall a lost library book that has come around to get him in trouble with a strange library inspector.
Why It’s On The List: Kramer’s forbidden love affair with a poetic librarian and George’s guilt about ruining the life of an abusive gym teacher (and the ultimate payoff) serve as great B stories, but Jerry’s amusement at the ripped-from-a-noir-novel existence of Bookman (the deliciously named inspector) and the performance by Phillip Baker Hall stands out. Seinfeld had a wonderful cast of recurring characters and often allowed them the chance to shine, but Bookman’s brand of weirdness conflicted with the norms of the Seinfeld world in such delightful ways that the character easily ranks as the show’s most memorable one-off (not counting his brief return in the series finale).
11. The Limo (Season 3, Episode 19)
NBC
The Story: Jerry and George get bold and jump into a limo meant for someone else.
Why It’s On The List: Jerry and George were not men of adventure, but they sure stumbled into one in this episode that takes a sharp turn when it’s revealed that George is unwittingly impersonating a prominent Nazi who is set to deliver a speech at a rally. Though it doesn’t end well, with George in a panic in front of a crowd of protestors, he’s remarkably calm in front of his armed Nazi guards, especially Eva, who clearly has an attraction to the power that she thinks George wields. Alexander’s ability to convey an unearned confidence in certain moments really stands out here as he bosses around the other guard (a pre-Six Feet Under, Parenthood, and 9-1-1 Peter Krause) while doubtlessly expressing a slight bit of piss and internally screaming in fear. It’s one of the least “slice-of-life” episodes of the show, but the feeling of getting in way over one’s head keeps everything grounded.
10. The Chinese Restaurant (Season 2, Episode 11)
NBC
The Story: Jerry, Elaine, and George wait to be seated at a Chinese restaurant. That’s about it. #TrustTheProcess
Why It’s On This List: Part of it is that this is a legendary early episode that demonstrated the show’s ability to mine the minutiae of life and come up with gold thanks to the comedic power of relatability. But George’s background battle for a pay phone (ask your mom) is also notable. Jason Alexander’s theater training and ability to command a stage show as he stands in the middle of the restaurant’s waiting area and briefly launches into a “Mad As Hell” type hissy fit before the guy he was ready to rumble with snaps him out of it with a tap on the shoulder. It’s a perfect reminder that for all his many outbursts, George was often all bark and no bite.
9. The Cheever Letters (Season 4, Episode 8)
NBC
Story: Jerry and George embody writerly procrastination before Jerry calls Elaine, gets her chatty assistant instead, and inadvertently leads to the assistant quitting. Elaine asks Jerry to help get her back but he winds up getting too involved and later bungles a makeout session with some epically bad dirty talk. Meanwhile, George goes to an incredibly awkward dinner with Susan’s (Heidi Swedberg) parents where he does a poor job of bonding with her father and telling him about the destruction of his cabin.
Why It’s On This List: Warren Frost and Grace Zabriskie made five appearances as Susan’s parents, but they were never as interesting or hilariously horrific to each other as they are in this episode.
Writers Larry David, Elaine Pope, and Tom Leopold really lingered on the domestic battlefield with these two as they sniped at each other over dinner and then seemingly fell apart when it was revealed that Susan’s father had carried on a secret love affair with author John Cheever (now there’s a guy who knew how to communicate with passion). I say seemingly because George and Jerry got the hell out of Dodge just after the delivery of a strongbox from the cabin and Susan’s discovery that her father had the ability to give someone a near-crippling orgasm. Shame, I could have spent an entire episode listening to Frost and Zabriskie bicker.
8. The Hamptons (Season 5, Episode 20)
NBC
The Story: Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer go out to The Hamptons to see a friend’s new baby and enjoy the fruits of a weekend at the beach.
Why It’s On This List: It’s hard to not be put off by the hideousness of George’s musings about sexual boundaries pre and post-sex, but this is also an episode that takes a big swipe at male insecurity and bravado. And if there’s a message derived from George’s ultimate failure to have sex with his girlfriend (due to some negative word of mouth about the size of his penis) and Kramer’s punishment for raiding a commercial lobster trap, it’s that sometimes you don’t get what you want. Even Elaine’s efforts to snag Dr. Ben Pfeffer (Richard Burgi) point to this as an intended theme. Jerry? Like usual, he’s fine and doesn’t get pulled too deeply into the situation.
I also like that Seinfeld made it OK to acknowledge that some babies are objectively ugly.
7. The Busboy (Season 2, Episode 12)
NBC
The Story: Jerry, Elaine, and George go out to dinner and George accidentally gets a busboy (David Labiosa) fired. Elaine has a week-long shack up that goes way wrong, leading to her trying to unload the guy in a frenzy.
Why It’s On This List: Two specific things stand out. First, Jerry’s remark to George about the busboy probably killing his whole family over George’s actions perfectly stoked the bonfire of guilt building within him. It’s a perfect demonstration of Jerry’s gleeful indifference to the suffering of others, including those that are close to him. And it’s tied up so nicely and so subtly at the end of the episode when the busboy thanks everyone for his new and improved life and Jerry proudly gives a little “No problem” half wave after having done nothing to help the situation at all.
Second, nothing lingers in the mind from this episode like the work Julia Louis Dreyfus does while trying to get her houseguest off to the airport. She’s so filled with nervous energy and disgust for this guy that at one point she actually runs in place for a second before screaming and throwing a sweater (any sweater) at him as he slowly (so slowly) looks for his things. And then Dreyfus brings everything back the other way in the next scene when she arrives at Jerry’s apartment (and how about that hero shot by director Tom Cherones and DP Jerry Good?) to deliver an epic, yet haunted tale about an airport run through the streets of New York. The range and talent are off the charts. It’s one of the best moments of physical comedy in the show’s history.
6. The Airport (Season 4, Episode 12)
NBC
The Story: Jerry exploits George’s delusions of athletic grandeur to score an airport pickup for he and Elaine on a trip back from St. Louis, but a canceled flight throws everything into chaos.
Why It’s On This List: Seinfeld often deployed a seesaw approach wherein one character had to fall for another to rise, but few contrasts were as crisp, closely linked, and perfectly executed as Jerry and Elaine’s differing in-flight experiences after he snagged the only first-class ticket on their replacement flight, banishing her to coach. Jerry’s opulent snuggle-fest with a supermodel (Jennifer Campbell) is fine, but the comedy mostly came from Elaine’s mounting frustration and her sad expulsion from first class after sneaking in. All she wanted was a cookie and a nap. Elaine is all of us in this episode.
5. The Parking Garage (Season 3, Episode 6)
NBC
The Story: Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer get lost in a mall parking garage in New Jersey, passing the time with light musings on death, parental disappointment, trucker pee, and Scientology.
Why It’s On This List: Like “The Chinese Restaurant,” the comedy comes from the relatability of the situation/setting, but in this case, it’s greatly enhanced by the chemistry of the actors and their ability to sell patter that wouldn’t be particularly memorable on paper. Like Kramer talking about how a documentary caused him to stop stressing about death or Jerry making an off-the-cuff reference to Buddy Hackett, which he then feels compelled to explain after it falls flat.
In real life, sometimes your shared glossary of terms fails you with your friends and you have to own a crappy quip. This incredibly small (and probably forgettable) moment is recognition of that reality and that commitment to the nuance of these dynamics is a really impressive thing.
4. The Marine Biologist (Season 5, Episode 14)
NBC
The Story: Jerry bumps into a former college classmate who asks about George. This prompts Jerry to tell her that George is a marine biologist, a lie that George carries through the most extreme of circumstances.
Why It’s On This List: George’s dedication to maintaining a lie is always impressive, especially when you consider the lack of smartphones, Google, and Wikipedia. This episode showcases a true bullshit artist at the height of his powers. But the payoff at the end after his encounter with a sick whale is the stuff of legend.
At times eloquent and brilliantly paced throughout, George sounds like an old fisherman as he regales the gang with the details surrounding his heroic interaction with the mammoth fish (mammal… whatever). It’s absurd, but not so over-the-top that the scene loses you before the big payoff.
Like Miles Davis said, “it’s not the notes you play, it’s the notes you don’t play.” Seinfeld doesn’t get enough praise for its ability to ease up off the gas and let a big moment slowly reveal itself without forcing it.
3. The Invitations (Season 7, Episode 22)
NBC
The Story: Susan puts a wedge in between George and his friends before the wedding and both Jerry and Elaine wonder about the state of their lives and what will happen once George gets married.
Why It’s On This List: The main plot points — a looming wedding, an engagement (for Jerry to his doppelganger), characters pondering the future of their group dynamic and where they are in their own lives — feel like the kinds of developments you’d expect in the twilight years of any sitcom, but the show turns them all on their ear. Especially the wedding.
Producers could have had George and Susan break up following an arc that saw George clawing at the walls trying to escape couplehood. Normality would have been restored and no one would have been shocked. But where would the fun be in that? Instead, Jerry Seinfeld and departing co-creator Larry David opted to test the audience’s willingness to stick with them and George by killing off Susan, making George’s cheapness an accessory, and then having him basically shrug upon hearing the news.
Think about how any other show would handle that situation. You can replicate the “pals in a city riffing on life and nonsense” aspect of Seinfeld (and so so many have tried), but the willingness to challenge and trust an audience through twists and turns and moments that are impossible to redeem? That spirit is a lot harder to replicate.
2. The Contest (Season 4, Episode 11)
NBC
The Story: George’s mom walks in on him whilst he’s lost in a haze of self-pleasure and a copy of Glamour magazine. She falls and hurts herself because of the shock, causing George to swear off “that” while recounting the story to his friends. They doubt his staying power, which sparks a contest. But with Elaine’s John F. Kennedy Jr. flirtation, Jerry’s relationship with a virgin, Kramer’s view of a nudist neighbor, and George’s proximity to a sponge bath session, all seem doomed to indulge themselves.
Why It’s On This List: Imagine a TV landscape absent a whole dimension of adult relationships cut off from audiences that demand (to borrow a line from another Seinfeld episode) “this, that, and the other” when it comes to how intimacy is portrayed and discussed.
Seinfeld wasn’t the first show to use sex on television as a main theme, but it doubtlessly helped usher in a sea change (along with other early ‘90s entries like NYPD Blue and HBO’s oft-forgotten Dream On) that we’re still reaping the benefits of. “The Contest” is a big part of that, but that wasn’t the motivation or why the episode often sits atop lists like this. It’s a genuinely funny episode made great by Larry David and the cast’s wizardly ability to draw laughs from awkward moments, human weakness, failure, and the dumb stuff we talk about and do within the safe space of our awful and splendid social circles.
1. The Subway (Season 3, Episode 13)
NBC
The Story: Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer go off on four distinct side adventures through the New York subway system.
Why It’s On This List: The group dynamic is what drives most great comedies. You’ve got a set of well-established characters and they play off of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Seinfeld, obviously, mastered this as well as any classic, but these characters were also strong enough on their own to carry a side quest without causing the audience to long for when everyone was safely nestled in their usual box. “The Subway” is the best example of that. The whole thing plays out like a series of short films. There’s no real purpose save for the laughs generated by relatable moments and the slow march toward disaster (George getting robbed and left chained to a hotel bed), frustration (Elaine getting stuck in a subway train), salvation (Kramer getting saved from a mugging), and absurdity (Jerry bonding with a subway nudist over the Mets and Coney Island).
You could legitimately pick any one of these episodes (any one of the show’s 25 or 30 best, really) to sit atop this list and I wouldn’t insult your intelligence or call you names. The show was that good and so clearly able to break comedic barriers and transcend the kinds of stories that everyone else on the block was trying to do. Absent sentimentality with a dedicated focus to being funny: that was the blueprint and so that’s what’s behind this choice. I like “The Subway” the most because it makes me laugh the hardest. Still.
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