thelesterlee
Jerry Seinfeld has a mediocre TV show or movie or something coming to Netflix this weekend. It’ll be the most average thing ever made and I’ll watch every second of it because I binge everything and immediately run out of shit to consume. Actually, you know what? While we’re all here, let’s watch the trailer real quick:
Always happy to see Melissa McCarthy getting a paycheck. Also, have you noticed it is impossible to watch a movie now without every single character being played by an actor you know? Also also, is this just the Mad Men set??
Anyway, in an interview with the New Yorker, Jerry Seinfeld, star of the hit show Seinfeld, gave a thoroughly thought out, well-researched theory on why he believes the culture lacks classic sitcoms like the ones he grew up watching.
Let’s see what Professor Seinfeld thinks of the 2024 comedy world:
Nothing really affects comedy. People always need it. They need it so badly and they don’t get it. It used to be, you would go home at the end of the day, most people would go, “Oh, ‘Cheers’ is on. Oh, ‘m*a*s*h’ is on. Oh, ‘Mary Tyler Moore’ is on. ‘All in the Family’ is on.” You just expected, There’ll be some funny stuff we can watch on TV tonight. Well, guess what—where is it? This is the result of the extreme left and P.C. crap, and people worrying so much about offending other people. Now they’re going to see standup comics because we are not policed by anyone. The audience polices us. We know when we’re off track. We know instantly and we adjust to it instantly. But when you write a script and it goes into four or five different hands, committees, groups—“Here’s our thought about this joke.” Well, that’s the end of your comedy.
Genius stuff here.
We desperately need comedy now, more than ever. It’s hell out here.
Wars everywhere.
College campuses being stormed by hordes of cops gleefully marching knowing they finally get an opportunity to hit someone and not only get paid to do so but they get treated like heroes for their destruction.
We all need a network sitcom to get us through these trying times and thanks to the ‘extreme left’, we no longer get those shows.
You know, classic edgy sitcoms that constantly challenged us and crossed the line like *squints* The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
I know we all 100% agree with Dr. Seinfeld but I’m going to give an alternate reason for the lack of popular network sitcoms real quick, ya know, as a goof.
Why aren’t there more popular network sitcoms?
Well, besides the extreme left, I’d imagine it’s difficult to get families across the nation to sit down at 8pm in front of the TV to watch a network sitcom when only 48% of Americans have cable.
With streaming, it is almost impossible to get a nationwide audience to stop what they’re doing and watch your TV channel unless it’s like Game of Thrones and even that ended 5 years ago—pre-global pandemic.
I believe comedy is cyclical.
Currently, many newer comedies are dark, realistic portrayals of life with some absurdities thrown in here and there. Comedy reflects society. Writers and comedians are creating bleaker art, matching the crumbling world around them.
So no, we do not have a set-up/punchline, laugh track-laden, generic Big Bang Theory-esque sitcoms breaking viewership records anymore.
Boo hoo.
We also have access to almost every TV show that’s ever aired so Americans are not without comedy at all. They have MORE comedy than ever before. You love Cheers so much? Go fucking watch it. No one’s stopping you.
Jerry is using this interview to get something else off his chest. This man does not give a single shit about what’s on TV.
What is Jerry Seinfeld talking about?
I have two ideas on what’s going on here:
1. He’s a conservative.
If you’re right-leaning, you tend to eat a lot of trash all day.
And by that I mean, most news coverage directed at conservatives exists exclusively to terrify them. The more terrified they are, the more conservative they’ll likely become.
So much right-wing ‘news’ will be like, one individual weirdo in the middle of nowhere doing something preposterous and the news will cover it like it’s a national trend sweeping the country and slipping into bed with your daughters.
People who use terms like ‘extreme left’ aren’t even sure what they mean considering they’ve never met anyone who identifies as that. I’VE never met anyone who identifies as that.
Also, the ‘extreme left’ has zero power over anything.
No establishment in America is catering to communists or whatever Jerry is afraid of.
You know who would be considered the extreme left? The protestors at Columbia University being stomped out by the NYPD on Tuesday night. Those protestors do not, in any way, have the power to alter the decisions of television executives. David Zaslav has never, in his life, made a decision in hopes of garnering the favor of the extreme left.
Conservatism also requires a scapegoat. Terms like ‘extreme left’ or ‘woke’ give them a nebulous foe to point the finger at without being blatantly racist or phobic.
2. He’s no longer special.
See, what made Jerry Seinfeld stand out wasn’t his unbelievably thoughtful and precise observations.
He never cursed and was a nice alternative for people who wanted to enjoy a comedy show that wasn’t raunchy.
In his mind, his schtick is no longer unique since he believes all comedy has become neutered. My man is lashing out at a group of people he doesn’t like (for an entirely different reason) and blaming them for taking away what made him special.
And I do believe comedians may be smoothing out their content to avoid offending people or trending online.
Sure.
If you want to blame the extreme left for not celebrating Dave Chappelle dedicating the last half-decade of his life to going on stage and shitting on trans people for no reason then sure, yea, *shakes fist at sky* DAMN YOU, EXTREME LEFT.
Jerry is 1000% correct. The ‘extreme left’ has killed comedy. HIS specific comedy.
Come back to Deadseriousness this weekend for a review of whatever load of compost he’s about to drop on Netflix. Can’t wait for the pop tarts movie…
Do you agree with Jerry Seinfeld? Leave a comment below. Respond on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Or shoot me an email at Deadseriousmailbag@gmail.com. Let’s chat, bay-beeeee. Let me know if you’re in the extreme left so I can demand you give us back our beloved sitcoms.
