Why I started watching Seinfeld in 2022

Not many people are starting Seinfeld for the first time in 2022. Many people are rewatching but not starting. That’s why I am writing this blog.
Why start Seinfeld today? But the bigger question is do I live under a rock? Why haven’t I watched it yet? To answer the rock question, no I don’t. I live in Toyohashi, Japan which might be some kind of rock to you if you don’t live in Japan.
Anyways, back to the topic. Seinfeld is iconic to people who grew up with the show. It’s iconic to people who love sitcoms. I get all of that. But I neither grew up with it nor am a huge fan of sitcoms. I watch them casually and if I find a good one I stick to it. I avoided Seinfeld because it’s a pretty old show and I was worried I wouldn’t get the reference of the jokes or relate to the scenes in the show. For the same reason, I have avoided friends.
Now you may or may not think those are valid reasons, but I did at least have reasons. So what changed and why did I suddenly finish the first two episodes today?
It all happened when I was watching Colin and Samir’s video of Van Neistat’s studio. Somewhere near the end of the video, they mention Seinfeld not the show but the person. Van talks about how he heard about Seinfeld’s writing process in an episode of Tim Ferris. As soon as I heard that I paused. I played that again. I paused and I played that again. It got me all excited and happy. I love the Tim Ferris show but it has too many episodes. So I always look out for episodes recommended by people or episodes with people I know about. Van Neistat mentioning Seinfeld mattered to me because I love Van’s work. If Van talks highly of someone else that means there’s a lot to learn from that person too. Colin also added more about Seinfeld.
Now, it’s not the first time I heard praise about Seinfeld and probably not the last time. But this was the right time or the time that it clicked. I listened to a lot of comedians talk about Seinfeld. It never mattered to me because I myself am not a comedian. But when an online creator like Colin and Samir or a storyteller like Van talks about him, then he has my attention.
Immediately without wasting much time I found the episode on Spotify, listened to the whole 90 minutes, and put it on my list of things to revisit every year. What a fascinating guy! There was so much to learn about how he deals with life, writing, and parenting from this interview.
As a feeling of gratitude, I had to watch his show. I have to finish his show. It’s a great show, I never denied that. But now I have a reason to finish this great show by a great guy.