Jerry Seinfeld Unveils His Top 4 ‘Seinfeld’ Episodes & Fans Are Divided
What To Know
- Jerry Seinfeld recently named his four favorite episodes of Seinfeld.
- He praised the ending of “The Marine Biologist” and the premise of “The Merv Griffin Show,” while noting that “The Boyfriend” nearly made his list.
- Fans were divided, with some endorsing his choices and others championing episodes such as “The Strike,” “The Comeback,” and “The Fusilli Jerry.”
Jerry Seinfeld unveiled his top four Seinfeld episodes — and fans of the beloved sitcom have thoughts.
Recently, a clip from May started circulating on social media. It featured a panel discussion from the Netflix Is a Joe Festival involving Seinfeld, Larry David, and Ari Emanuel.
“OK, my four, not in chronological order. And I actually gave this a little thought,” Seinfeld, 72, said, noting that he didn’t need to actually watch any of the episodes because “I did them. I was there.”
His top four were: “The Contest” (Season 4, Episode 11), “The Soup Nazi” (Season 7, Episode 6), “The Mery Griffin Show” (Season 9, Episode 6), and “The Marine Biologist” (Season 5, Episode 14).
“’The Contest’ doesn’t require an explanation. ‘The Soup Nazi’ doesn’t either,” Seinfeld explained. “Just the idea of the word ‘Nazi’ in the episode. It’s a Jewish show. It was just such a great, fun thing to do.”
He continued, “‘The Marine Biologist,’ that was the best story tie-in finish to an episode we ever did. Jason’s speech at the end makes that. And ‘The Merv Griffin Show,’ because Kramer finds the Merv Griffin set in a dumpster and sets it up in his apartment. So just based on that one sentence, enough said.”
Additionally, Seinfeld mentioned a fifth episode that nearly made his top four, revealing, “I kind of went back and forth because I really liked ‘The Boyfriend.'”
Jerry Seinfeld reveals his four favorite Seinfeld episodes of all time.
Jerry Seinfeld: “Okay, my four, not in chronological order. And I actually gave this a little thought.”
Host: “Wow. Did you do a little work? What thoughts did you give it?”
Jerry Seinfeld: “I gave it some thought.”
Host: “Did you watch any?”
Jerry Seinfeld: “No, I don’t need to watch it. I did them. I was there.”
“The Contest. The Soup Nazi. The Merv Griffin Show, because I love that premise. And the Marine Biologist.”
Host: “Wow. Do you want to go over how those came to be?”
Jerry Seinfeld: “The Contest doesn’t require an explanation. The Soup Nazi doesn’t either. Just the idea of the word ‘Nazi’ in the episode, it’s a Jewish show. It was just such a great, fun thing to do.”
“The Marine Biologist, that was the best story tie-in finish to an episode we ever did. Jason’s speech at the end makes that.”
Larry David: “Yeah, that’s true.”
Jerry Seinfeld: “And the Merv Griffin Show, because Kramer finds the Merv Griffin set in a dumpster and sets it up in his apartment. So just based on that one sentence, enough said.”
“They’re all high-concept shows.”
“I toyed with The Boyfriend and The Merv Griffin Show. I kind of went back and forth because I really liked The Boyfriend.”
Host: “Yo, that’s a penalty. You can’t mention the fifth one. You can only say what you said.”
Jerry Seinfeld: “I’m just conversing. It’s a podcast.”
— ً (@heisdenji) October 28, 2026
In the comments of an X post, Seinfeld fans were divided in their reactions to his top four episodes.
One agreed, “‘The Merv Griffin Show’ has always been my favourite ep.”
Another declared, “So. Many. Excellent. Choices.”
Someone else pointed out, “Hard to argue with that 4, but ‘The Handicap Spot’ episode also comes to mind.”
Still others thought Seinfeld missed the mark, with one fan insisting, “Festivus!!!!” (Also known as “The Strike” (Season 9, Episode 10.)
A second proclaimed, “Jerry doesn’t know funny, sadly. ‘The Comeback’ is by far the greatest episode ever. Merv Griffin was funny, but his other 4 were weak.”
A different fan protested, “How does a**man not make the list??” (“The Fusilli Jerry,” Season 6, Episode 21.)
Meanwhile, yet another X user commented, “It’s ‘The BoyFriend.’ One hour episode. Has the JFK movie spoof, George’s unemployment checks scheme, and Keith Hernandez.”
Seinfeld aired for nine seasons from 1989 to 1998. In addition to Jerry, the sitcom starred Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine Benes, Michael Richards as Cosmo Kramer, Jason Alexander as George Costanza, Wayne Knight as Newman, among others.
Seinfeld, streaming on Netflix
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S
I will always be so grateful to Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David and the Seinfeld cast , crew and writers. Our beloved mother wasn't able to watch Seinfeld due to her job during its original run. I had the joy of watching it with her during her well deserved retirement. Tragically she suffered through horrific illnesses during her final decade. One day she was having a particularly rough time. I started to quote the episode with Elaine shouting "Stella." One of our favorites. To see her beautiful smile and hear her laugh in her hospital bed despite her enormous pain is something I will always cherish.
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D
My all time favorite is the Merv Griffin episode... Followed by "The Hamptons", "Marble rye", "Festivus". If I had a top five, I would add the "low talker, when Jerry had to wear the pirate shirt and George was a hand model. What a fabulous farce.