Comic turned down an unprecedented TV offer

Jerry Seinfeld has said he has no regrets about turning down a deal that would have noted hum more than $100million.

The comic was offered more than $5million an episode to continue making his self-titled sitcom after it ended in 1998.

Former NBC executive Warren Littlefield has previously told how the network made the ‘unheard-of’ offer, saying: ‘We went in there with a staggering sum and there was tremendous confidence that no one could walk away from it.’

But that’s exactly what he did, saying he wanted a life beyond TV.

Now  in an interview with The New York Times, Seinfeld was asked if he ever regretted that decision.

‘No,’ he said. ‘It was the perfect moment, and the proof that it was the right moment is the number of questions you’re still asking me about it. 

‘The most important word in art is "proportion". How much? How long is this joke going to be? How many words? How many minutes? And getting that right is what makes it art or what makes it mediocre.’

The comedian also said he never watches the show if he ever stumbles on it while channel-surfing.

‘I think there’s a level of focus you need to get something to a certain point creatively, and you pay a price for that, which is you can’t ever look at it again,’ he said.

Published: 19 Aug 2018