If they do their job right, sitcom episodes are endlessly rewatchable. You can catch them in reruns or find them on a streaming service and watch old episodes over and over again to your heart’s content. This could be said for many episodes of Seinfeld. However, as with any network sitcom pumping out more than 20 episodes a year, Seinfeld had plenty of ups and downs.
Almost every episode was essentially “good” because it was a smart show with a strong sense of itself, but a handful of episodes were really great. No matter how many times you watch those episodes, they’ll raise more than a few chuckles. So, here are 10 episodes of Seinfeld that’ll never get old.
Updated Feb 22nd, 2022, new entries by Colin Naughton.
The Airport (Season 4, Episode 12)
A Seinfeld classic, Season 4 Episode 12 "The Airport," is one of the most relatable episodes for viewers. Jerry and Elaine are flying back to New York after a work trip for Jerry. Kramer and George have been tasked with picking them up from the airport. This is a great beginner episode for new Seinfeld watchers. From Jerry enjoying the perks in first class to Elaine slumming it in coach while George and Kramer provide extra comedy with their mishaps on the way to the airport, the laughter doesn't cease throughout this episode. "The Airport" is such a great example of how relatable the humor in this show is.
The Switch (Season 6, Episode 11)
"The Switch" is such a clever episode. As Jerry tries to make his current girlfriend break up with him so he can date the roommate, Jerry and George come up with the perfect scheme to ensure that the plan succeeds. The writing in this episode makes it seem as if Jerry and George are detectives trying to solve the unsolvable case which just adds to the humor level. A major Seinfeld easter egg is revealed in this episode as well, the first name of Kramer. A secret Kramer kept for 6 seasons!
The Bizarro Jerry (Season 8, Episode 3)
When Elaine becomes friends with a guy she was dating named Kevin and realizes he’s Jerry’s opposite in every way, Jerry compares him to the Superman villain from the Bizarro World. As Elaine meets Kevin’s friends and sees his apartment, she notices increasingly eerie parallels to the world of the show.
This is one of Seinfeld’s most self-aware episodes, playing on its audience’s familiarity with the central quartet for laughs. It smacks of an idea that Superman super-fan Jerry Seinfeld had wanted to do for years, and fast-tracked it as soon as series co-creator Larry David left the show and he took sole creative control of the last two seasons.
The Puffy Shirt (Season 5, Episode 2)
Season 5’s “The Puffy Shirt” is famous for its delightfully absurd A-plot, in which Jerry accidentally agrees to wear a buccaneer-style shirt designed by a “low-talker” on a national TV broadcast.
But the episode also has a priceless B-plot, which sees George moving back in with his parents in Queens. He finds living with them again unbearable, and almost finds a quick way out with a career as a hand model that ends spectacularly when he collides with the A-plot’s climax.
The Outing (Season 4, Episode 17)
A student journalist mistakenly outing Jerry and George as gay might sound like a premise that’s aged poorly, but its satirical portrayal of straight people dancing around talking about queerness has aged surprisingly well.
The iconic mantra “...not that there’s anything wrong with that” carries the whole episode. The way that George tries to use the article to get out of a bad relationship is hysterically in-character for him.
The Summer of George (Season 8, Episode 22)
Season 8 Finale, "The Summer of George" is definitely an episode to remember. Kramer wins a Tony, Jerry hires George as his relationship intern, Elaine has a conflict at work and of course, George celebrates his severance package after being fired from the Yankees. Working as Jerry's relationship intern is probably the one job above all others that George actually works hard for. Kramer's storyline is truly amazing in this episode, living the high life as a Tony Award winner. "The Summer of George" includes several great inside jokes from past Seinfeld moments that only a true fan would know, which helps make it so rewatchable).
The Little Jerry (Season 8, Ep 11)
Little Jerry Seinfeld is a lean, mean, pecking machine! The early scene in Monk's Diner can be watched over and over and still be funny every time. Kramer's "sweatshop" eggs leads him to procuring his a chicken to produce his own eggs, something only Kramer would do.
Kramer and Jerry's obsession for their rooster to be the best cock-fighter in the underground cock-fighting ring is so hilariously creative and indeed shows that Seinfeld really is the show about nothing. Elaine dates a bald guy and George dates a convict. The calamity of errors that ensue because of their dating choices is a riot to watch.
The Chicken Roaster (Season 8, Episode 8)
Episode 8 Season 8 "The Chicken Roaster" is comedy gold right from the start. Kramer's apartment is flooded by the beaming red light from the Kenny Rodgers Roasters and causes Kramer and Jerry to swap lives. Jerry begins to take on Kramer's persona while Kramer becomes the reasonable one in this laughter-filled episode. There are so many funny jokes and amazing acting, especially when Kramer opens the door to Jerry's apartment to the beam of red light shining in the hallway. "The Chicken Roaster" is an incredible episode and one that can be watched over and over.
The Subway (Season 3, Episode 13)
In season 3’s “The Subway,” Jerry, George, Kramer, and Elaine all get on the subway going in different directions, and each of them face a nightmarish day as their best-laid plans go awry.
Jerry befriends a nudist, George is robbed by a femme fatale, Elaine gets trapped in a tunnel, and Kramer is targeted by some goons after winning big on a horse race.
The Soup Nazi (Season 7, Episode 6)
Inspired by a real-life soup vendor in New York, season 7’s “The Soup Nazi” sees the city taken by storm by a talented but strict new soup chef who’s opened a store in Jerry’s neighborhood.
Out of the four main characters in the show, Elaine had to be the one to butt heads with the titular chef. She’s also the one to bring him to his knees in the episode’s final moments.
The Marine Biologist (Season 5, Episode 14)
George loves to lie, but he only likes to stick to his lies, not anyone else's. When Jerry tells George’s old crush who didn’t expect him to amount to anything that he’s now an esteemed marine biologist, George has to adapt to somebody else’s lie.
The payoff in this episode is spectacular as George is expected to save a beached whale whose blowhole turns out to have been clogged by Kramer’s golf ball.
The Chinese Restaurant (Season 2, Episode 11)
NBC executives fought Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David tooth and nail in an attempt to put the kibosh on this episode because they didn’t think any TV viewer in their right mind would spend half an hour watching three characters waiting for a table in a Chinese restaurant.
However, it turned out to be a major turning point for the “show about nothing.” That label is sort of ironic, as Seinfeld and David used the simplicity of premises like this one to explore universally relatable social norms.
The Boyfriend (Season 3, Episodes 17/18)
Seinfeld’s first two-part episode still stands as one of the show’s funniest. In “The Boyfriend,” Jerry befriends baseball player Keith Hernandez (hilariously guest-starring as himself) and goes through all the stages of a romantic entanglement.
Meanwhile, George works harder than he’s ever worked in his life to keep receiving unemployment benefits without having to look for a job.
The Opposite (Season 5, Episode 21)
In the season 5 finale, George comes to the shocking realization that all of his natural instincts have been wrong. So, he decides to start doing the opposite of all his instincts and quickly gets his dream girl and his dream job.
Meanwhile, as George’s life gets better, Elaine’s life gets worse, and happy-go-lucky Jerry realizes that he always comes out even.
The Contest (Season 4, Episode 11)
Undisputed in fans’ and critics’ rankings of the best Seinfeld episodes, “The Contest” is masterfully written, hilariously acted, and an all-round perfect installment of this show. After George’s mother catches him in an unfortunate situation, the group enters a contest to see which of them can go the longest without touching themselves.
The real genius of the episode is the fact that it’s about masturbation but evades network censors by never actually using the word itself. Plus, the episode gives all four main cast members plenty of meaty scenes to chew on.