Seinfeld season 8

*Seinfeld*
Seinfeld
Season 8
	DVD cover
No. of episodes	22
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	September 19, 1996 –; May 15, 1997
Season chronology
	← Previous; Season 7 Next →; Season 9
	List of episodes

The eighth season of Seinfeld, an American comedy television series began airing on September 19, 1996, and concluded on May 15, 1997, on NBC.

The eighth season marked a turning point in the series. It is the first season where Seinfeld himself took creative control of the show after co-creator Larry David left. It is also the first season where the episodes no longer start with Jerry's stand-up routines. Seinfeld states that this is because he was too busy writing episodes to create additional stand-up material.^[1] As a result, the show began to remove itself from the 'show about nothing' format it had begun life as, and took a far more absurdist, surreal stylistic turn.

Production

Seinfeld was produced by Castle Rock Entertainment and distributed by Columbia Pictures Television and Columbia TriStar Television (now Sony Pictures Television) and aired on NBC in the US. The executive producers were Jerry Seinfeld, George Shapiro, and Howard West with Tom Gammill and Max Pross as supervising producers. Bruce Kirschbaum was the executive consultant.^[2] This season was directed by Andy Ackerman.

The series was set predominantly in an apartment block on New York City's Upper West Side; however, the eighth season was shot and mostly filmed in CBS Studio Center in Studio City, California.^[3] The show features Jerry Seinfeld as himself, and a host of Jerry's friends and acquaintances, which include George Costanza, Elaine Benes, and Cosmo Kramer, portrayed by Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Michael Richards, respectively.^[4]

Due to Julia Louis-Dreyfus's off-screen pregnancy, her character had to spend the latter half of this season hiding her belly behind furniture and laundry baskets.

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date ^[5]	Prod. code ^[6]	US viewers (millions)
135	1	"The Foundation"	Andy Ackerman	Alec Berg & Jeff Schaffer	September 19, 1996 (1996-09-19)	801	33.72^[7]
136	2	"The Soul Mate"	Andy Ackerman	Peter Mehlman	September 26, 1996 (1996-09-26)	802	33.24^[8]
137	3	"The Bizarro Jerry"	Andy Ackerman	David Mandel	October 3, 1996 (1996-10-03)	803	31.62^[9]
138	4	"The Little Kicks"	Andy Ackerman	Spike Feresten	October 10, 1996 (1996-10-10)	804	32.24^[10]
139	5	"The Package"	Andy Ackerman	Jennifer Crittenden	October 17, 1996 (1996-10-17)	805	30.13^[11]
140	6	"The Fatigues"	Andy Ackerman	Gregg Kavet & Andy Robin	October 31, 1996 (1996-10-31)	806	30.33^[12]
141	7	"The Checks"	Andy Ackerman	Steve O'Donnell and Tom Gammill & Max Pross	November 7, 1996 (1996-11-07)	807	32.01^[13]
142	8	"The Chicken Roaster"	Andy Ackerman	Alec Berg & Jeff Schaffer	November 14, 1996 (1996-11-14)	808	34.09^[14]
143	9	"The Abstinence"	Andy Ackerman	Steve Koren	November 21, 1996 (1996-11-21)	809	34.35^[15]
144	10	"The Andrea Doria"	Andy Ackerman	Spike Feresten	December 19, 1996 (1996-12-19)	810	29.65^[16]
145	11	"The Little Jerry"	Andy Ackerman	Jennifer Crittenden	January 9, 1997 (1997-01-09)	811	34.48^[17]
146	12	"The Money"	Andy Ackerman	Peter Mehlman	January 16, 1997 (1997-01-16)	813	37.34^[18]
147	13	"The Comeback"	David Owen Trainor	Gregg Kavet & Andy Robin	January 30, 1997 (1997-01-30)	812	33.50^[19]
148	14	"The Van Buren Boys"	Andy Ackerman	Darin Henry	February 6, 1997 (1997-02-06)	814	33.82^[20]
149	15	"The Susie"	Andy Ackerman	David Mandel	February 13, 1997 (1997-02-13)	815	32.00^[21]
150	16	"The Pothole"	Andy Ackerman	Steve O'Donnell and Dan O'Keefe	February 20, 1997 (1997-02-20)	816	33.83^[22]
151	17	"The English Patient"	Andy Ackerman	Steve Koren	March 13, 1997 (1997-03-13)	817	31.27^[23]
152	18	"The Nap"	Andy Ackerman	Gregg Kavet & Andy Robin	April 10, 1997 (1997-04-10)	818	32.22^[24]
153	19	"The Yada Yada"	Andy Ackerman	Peter Mehlman and Jill Franklyn	April 24, 1997 (1997-04-24)	819	31.64^[25]
154	20	"The Millennium"	Andy Ackerman	Jennifer Crittenden	May 1, 1997 (1997-05-01)	820	29.30^[26]
155	21	"The Muffin Tops"	Andy Ackerman	Spike Feresten	May 8, 1997 (1997-05-08)	821	31.09^[27]
156	22	"The Summer of George"	Andy Ackerman	Alec Berg & Jeff Schaffer	May 15, 1997 (1997-05-15)	822	29.80^[28]

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 86% approval rating with an average rating of 9/10, based on 7 critic reviews.^[29]

References

^ "Selected Topics | Seinfeld Show Season 8". Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2011-01-09.
^ "The Seinfeld Crew and Credits at Seinfeld Official Site". Sony Pictures. Archived from the original on 2009-07-23. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
^ "The Stock Tip episode at Seinfeld Official Site". Sony Pictures. Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2008-04-29.
^ "Seinfeld and nihilism". 1999-12-03. Archived from the original on 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2008-04-29.
^ "Seinfeld Episodes | TVGuide.com". TV Guide. Retrieved March 20, 2008.
^ "Seinfeld Prod. Codes for all seasons". epguide.com. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
^ "Top Ranked Programs in Primetime for the Week of 9/16-9/23 as ranked by Nielsen Media Research". UltimateTV. Archived from the original on October 11, 1999.
^ "Top Ranked Programs in Primetime for the Week of 9/23-9/29 as ranked by Nielsen Media Research". UltimateTV. Archived from the original on October 11, 1999.
^ "Top Ranked Programs in Primetime for the Week of 9/30-10/6 as ranked by Nielsen Media Research". UltimateTV. Archived from the original on October 13, 1999.
^ "Top Ranked Programs in Primetime for the Week of 10/7-10/13 as ranked by Nielsen Media Research". UltimateTV. Archived from the original on October 13, 1999.
^ "Top Ranked Programs in Primetime for the Week of 10/14-10/20 as ranked by Nielsen Media Research". UltimateTV. Archived from the original on November 17, 1999.
^ "Top Ranked Programs in Primetime for the Week of 10/28-11/3 as ranked by Nielsen Media Research". UltimateTV. Archived from the original on October 13, 1999.
^ "Top Ranked Programs in Primetime for the Week of 11/4-11/10 as ranked by Nielsen Media Research". UltimateTV. Archived from the original on October 13, 1999.
^ "Top Ranked Programs in Primetime for the Week of 11/11-11/17 as ranked by Nielsen Media Research". UltimateTV. Archived from the original on October 13, 1999.
^ "Top Ranked Programs in Primetime for the Week of 11/18-11/24 as ranked by Nielsen Media Research". UltimateTV. Archived from the original on October 14, 1999.
^ "Top Ranked Programs in Primetime for the Week of 12/16-12/22 as ranked by Nielsen Media Research". UltimateTV. Archived from the original on October 14, 1999.
^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 6–12)". The Los Angeles Times. January 15, 1997. Retrieved June 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 13–19)". The Los Angeles Times. January 22, 1997. Retrieved April 9, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 27–Feb. 2)". The Los Angeles Times. February 3, 1997. Retrieved April 9, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 3–9)". The Los Angeles Times. February 12, 1997. Retrieved April 10, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 10–16)". The Los Angeles Times. February 20, 1997. Retrieved April 9, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 17–23)". The Los Angeles Times. February 26, 1997. Retrieved April 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Mar. 10–16)". The Los Angeles Times. March 19, 1997. Retrieved April 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Apr. 7–13)". The Los Angeles Times. April 16, 1997. Retrieved April 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Apr. 21–27)". The Los Angeles Times. April 30, 1997. Retrieved April 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "National Nielsen Viewership (Apr. 28–May. 4)". The Los Angeles Times. May 7, 1997. Retrieved April 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "National Nielsen Viewership (May. 5–11)". The Los Angeles Times. May 14, 1997. Retrieved April 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "National Nielsen Viewership (May. 12–18)". The Los Angeles Times. May 21, 1997. Retrieved April 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Seinfeld: Season 8". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 19, 2022.

External links

[Seinfeld_Season_8-1] "Selected Topics | Seinfeld Show Season 8". Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2011-01-09.

[Seinfeld_Credits-2] "The Seinfeld Crew and Credits at Seinfeld Official Site". Sony Pictures. Archived from the original on 2009-07-23. Retrieved 2008-04-30.

[The_Stock_Tip_episode-3] "The Stock Tip episode at Seinfeld Official Site". Sony Pictures. Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2008-04-29.

[4] "Seinfeld and nihilism". 1999-12-03. Archived from the original on 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2008-04-29.

[tvg-5] "Seinfeld Episodes | TVGuide.com". TV Guide. Retrieved March 20, 2008.

[prod_codes-8-6] "Seinfeld Prod. Codes for all seasons". epguide.com. Retrieved 2008-03-23.

[7] "Top Ranked Programs in Primetime for the Week of 9/16-9/23 as ranked by Nielsen Media Research". UltimateTV. Archived from the original on October 11, 1999.

[8] "Top Ranked Programs in Primetime for the Week of 9/23-9/29 as ranked by Nielsen Media Research". UltimateTV. Archived from the original on October 11, 1999.

[9] "Top Ranked Programs in Primetime for the Week of 9/30-10/6 as ranked by Nielsen Media Research". UltimateTV. Archived from the original on October 13, 1999.

[10] "Top Ranked Programs in Primetime for the Week of 10/7-10/13 as ranked by Nielsen Media Research". UltimateTV. Archived from the original on October 13, 1999.

[11] "Top Ranked Programs in Primetime for the Week of 10/14-10/20 as ranked by Nielsen Media Research". UltimateTV. Archived from the original on November 17, 1999.

[12] "Top Ranked Programs in Primetime for the Week of 10/28-11/3 as ranked by Nielsen Media Research". UltimateTV. Archived from the original on October 13, 1999.

[13] "Top Ranked Programs in Primetime for the Week of 11/4-11/10 as ranked by Nielsen Media Research". UltimateTV. Archived from the original on October 13, 1999.

[14] "Top Ranked Programs in Primetime for the Week of 11/11-11/17 as ranked by Nielsen Media Research". UltimateTV. Archived from the original on October 13, 1999.

[15] "Top Ranked Programs in Primetime for the Week of 11/18-11/24 as ranked by Nielsen Media Research". UltimateTV. Archived from the original on October 14, 1999.

[16] "Top Ranked Programs in Primetime for the Week of 12/16-12/22 as ranked by Nielsen Media Research". UltimateTV. Archived from the original on October 14, 1999.

[17] "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 6–12)". The Los Angeles Times. January 15, 1997. Retrieved June 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[18] "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 13–19)". The Los Angeles Times. January 22, 1997. Retrieved April 9, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[19] "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 27–Feb. 2)". The Los Angeles Times. February 3, 1997. Retrieved April 9, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[20] "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 3–9)". The Los Angeles Times. February 12, 1997. Retrieved April 10, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[21] "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 10–16)". The Los Angeles Times. February 20, 1997. Retrieved April 9, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[22] "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 17–23)". The Los Angeles Times. February 26, 1997. Retrieved April 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[23] "National Nielsen Viewership (Mar. 10–16)". The Los Angeles Times. March 19, 1997. Retrieved April 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[24] "National Nielsen Viewership (Apr. 7–13)". The Los Angeles Times. April 16, 1997. Retrieved April 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[25] "National Nielsen Viewership (Apr. 21–27)". The Los Angeles Times. April 30, 1997. Retrieved April 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[26] "National Nielsen Viewership (Apr. 28–May. 4)". The Los Angeles Times. May 7, 1997. Retrieved April 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[27] "National Nielsen Viewership (May. 5–11)". The Los Angeles Times. May 14, 1997. Retrieved April 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[28] "National Nielsen Viewership (May. 12–18)". The Los Angeles Times. May 21, 1997. Retrieved April 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[29] "Seinfeld: Season 8". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 19, 2022.

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v t e Seinfeld
Episodes	Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Season 6 Season 7 Season 8 Season 9
Characters	Jerry Seinfeld George Costanza Elaine Benes Cosmo Kramer Newman Uncle Leo Jackie Chiles
Related	Awards and nominations Monk's Café Festivus Kenny Kramer The Original Soupman "Seinfeld" (Curb Your Enthusiasm) "SeinfeldVision" (30 Rock) Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc. v. Carol Publishing Group Inc. The Album About Nothing Nothing, Forever
Category

v t e Seinfeld episodes
Season 1	"The Seinfeld Chronicles" "The Stake Out" "The Robbery" "Male Unbonding" "The Stock Tip"
Season 2	"The Ex-Girlfriend" "The Pony Remark" "The Jacket" "The Phone Message" "The Apartment" "The Statue" "The Revenge" "The Heart Attack" "The Deal" "The Baby Shower" "The Chinese Restaurant" "The Busboy"
Season 3	"The Note" "The Truth" "The Pen" "The Dog" "The Library" "The Parking Garage" "The Cafe" "The Tape" "The Nose Job" "The Stranded" "The Alternate Side" "The Red Dot" "The Subway" "The Pez Dispenser" "The Suicide" "The Fix-Up" "The Boyfriend"† "The Limo" "The Good Samaritan" "The Letter" "The Parking Space" "The Keys"
Season 4	"The Trip"† "The Pitch" "The Ticket" "The Wallet" "The Watch" "The Bubble Boy" "The Cheever Letters" "The Opera" "The Virgin" "The Contest" "The Airport" "The Pick" "The Movie" "The Visa" "The Shoes" "The Outing" "The Old Man" "The Implant" "The Junior Mint" "The Smelly Car" "The Handicap Spot" "The Pilot"†
Season 5	"The Mango" "The Puffy Shirt" "The Glasses" "The Sniffing Accountant" "The Bris" "The Lip Reader" "The Non-Fat Yogurt" "The Barber" "The Masseuse" "The Cigar Store Indian" "The Conversion" "The Stall" "The Dinner Party" "The Marine Biologist" "The Pie" "The Stand In" "The Wife" "The Raincoats"† "The Fire" "The Hamptons" "The Opposite"
Season 6	"The Chaperone" "The Big Salad" "The Pledge Drive" "The Chinese Woman" "The Couch" "The Gymnast" "The Soup" "The Mom & Pop Store" "The Secretary" "The Race" "The Switch" "The Label Maker" "The Scofflaw" "The Highlights of 100"† "The Beard" "The Kiss Hello" "The Doorman" "The Jimmy" "The Doodle" "The Fusilli Jerry" "The Diplomat's Club" "The Face Painter" "The Understudy"
Season 7	"The Engagement" "The Postponement" "The Maestro" "The Wink" "The Hot Tub" "The Soup Nazi" "The Secret Code" "The Pool Guy" "The Sponge" "The Gum" "The Rye" "The Caddy" "The Seven" "The Cadillac"† "The Shower Head" "The Doll" "The Friar's Club" "The Wig Master" "The Calzone" "The Bottle Deposit"† "The Wait Out" "The Invitations"
Season 8	"The Foundation" "The Soul Mate" "The Bizarro Jerry" "The Little Kicks" "The Package" "The Fatigues" "The Checks" "The Chicken Roaster" "The Abstinence" "The Andrea Doria" "The Little Jerry" "The Money" "The Comeback" "The Van Buren Boys" "The Susie" "The Pothole" "The English Patient" "The Nap" "The Yada Yada" "The Millennium" "The Muffin Tops" "The Summer of George"
Season 9	"The Butter Shave" "The Voice" "The Serenity Now" "The Blood" "The Junk Mail" "The Merv Griffin Show" "The Slicer" "The Betrayal" "The Apology" "The Strike" "The Dealership" "The Reverse Peephole" "The Cartoon" "The Strongbox" "The Wizard" "The Burning" "The Bookstore" "The Frogger" "The Maid" "The Puerto Rican Day" "The Chronicle"† "The Finale"†
† Indicates two-part episode

v t e Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
1990s	Seinfeld (season 5/season 6) (1994) Friends (season 1/season 2) (1995) Seinfeld (season 7/season 8) (1996) Seinfeld (season 8/season 9) (1997) Ally McBeal (season 1/season 2) (1998) Frasier (season 6/season 7) (1999)
2000s	Will & Grace (season 2/season 3) (2000) Sex and the City (season 4) (2001) Everybody Loves Raymond (season 6/season 7) (2002) Sex and the City (season 6) (2003) Desperate Housewives (season 1) (2004) Desperate Housewives (season 1/season 2) (2005) The Office (season 2/season 3) (2006) The Office (season 3/season 4) (2007) 30 Rock (season 2/season 3) (2008) Glee (season 1) (2009)
2010s	Modern Family (season 1/season 2) (2010) Modern Family (season 2/season 3) (2011) Modern Family (season 3/season 4) (2012) Modern Family (season 4/season 5) (2013) Orange Is the New Black (season 2) (2014) Orange Is the New Black (season 3) (2015) Orange Is the New Black (season 4) (2016) Veep (season 6) (2017) The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (season 2) (2018) The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (season 3) (2019)
2020s	Schitt's Creek (season 6) (2020) Ted Lasso (season 2) (2021) Abbott Elementary (season 1/season 2) (2022) The Bear (season 2) (2023)