was interviewing a lot of the writers for the show. I like talking to people about the origins of their creativity and story. And sometimes, and I may be exaggerating, they said nobody’s ever talked to us about this stuff. So it was really fun because they had all these stories and they were very generous and it was thrilling to talk to these people where I’d see their name but didn’t know much about what they looked like in real life. I loved that you concentrated on the writers and how they would hire new ones for fresh ideas and so many people contributed to these classic episodes. Was that a big point you wanted to make? Especially in this case, this was extra interesting because of their creative process. That was something I didn’t know before I started writing the book and talking to them, that they had this completely different process, so that’s why I ended up with two or three chapters of writers’ stuff because it seemed so stressful and fascinating. Why do you think “Seinfeld” didn’t receive that much success with Emmys and various awards? Did it cater to a New York audience too much? From the number of people watching, that can’t be it. Awards can be weird and silly sometimes. We’ve seen weird Oscar wins and injustices for sure. There are certain things that tend to appeal in the moment to establishment voters in those contests. Who knows what goes on with these people? I think it was good in a way because it’s “Seinfeld.” It’s kind of your reverent street cred. Oh, nobody gets us even though the entire nation was watching them. The cast seemed to get along even with different personalities, such as Michael Richards, who seemed like the most intense actor. It seems like it for the most part. Of course, any groups have minor feuds and they famously had their negotiation issues around the second-to-last season. And we know that Michael was interesting. It’s true a lot of the time, there’s always one in a sitcom cast that is the method actor, who has to be in character and famously hated when people would laugh and break during the middle of his scenes. He was a little more intense than the other three who seemed incredibly relaxed and could work in this pretty straightforward kind of way. It was one of the best casts we’ve ever seen. It’s not like when you cast 22-year-olds. When they’ve been around, and they know how lucky they are, there’s a dif ferent feeling and they really appreciated it even in the moment. What was the turning point for the show that signaled that it was here to stay? Was it season three? It seems there were a few turning points. They built steam a bit by season three or four. Everyone was watching. That episode was interesting because it was clear to them at that point that they thought the network was going to balk at the plot line. And they said okay. The thing with networks, if you’re making money for them, that’s when you can do whatever you want. They have all kinds of suggestions and problems until you’re making money. Awards can be weird and silly sometimes. We’ve seen weird Oscar wins and injustices for sure. Who knows what goes on with these people? " QNS.COM SPRING 2017 33
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