The iconic sitcom about nothing is coming back to streaming services after a hiatus, so here’s how and when to watch Seinfeld once it lands. Largely considered one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, Seinfeld follows the everyday life of Jerry Seinfeld (in a fictionalized version of himself) and his friends George Costanza (Jason Alexander), Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss), and Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards) as they navigate life in their 30s and 40s in New York City. Seinfeld originally ran on NBC from 1989 to 1998, finishing in the top two shows on Nielsen ratings every year for the latter half of the series.
Since streaming toppled cable for the prominent way to enjoy old shows, Seinfeld has had a few homes before now. The show has been available through cable reruns for quite a while, typically through TBS but was more dominantly watched on Hulu from 2016 until June 23, 2021. Since June, Seinfeld has only been available through syndication or for the few that still own DVDs, so it’s a relief to finally have the beloved sitcom on a more accessible platform. Due to a deal for acquisition rights made back in 2019, NBC's nine-season series Seinfeld is finding a new home for the time being for both cable and streaming beginning in October.
After five years on Hulu and over 3 months off any streaming service, Seinfeld is officially moving to Netflix on October 1, 2021. In a major deal with Sony Pictures Television, who owns Seinfeld, Netflix secured Seinfeld’s exclusive streaming rights for the next five years, so fans can enjoy Jerry and the gang until 2026. It was revealed (via The Hollywood Reporter) that the deal cost over $500 million and includes global streaming rights, so Seinfeld will also be available outside of the U.S. for the same time period. For those still watching through cable, Viacom also secured exclusive syndication rights for Seinfeld, meaning it will move over from TBS to Comedy Central on October 1 as well.
The expensive deal for Netflix to acquire Seinfeld’s streaming rights came after losing two of its most popular sitcoms, Friends and The Office, from its catalog on December 31, 2019. Searching for another big-name NBC series to replace the other major ‘90s and ‘00s sitcoms, Netflix set its eyes on Seinfeld. Netflix seems to be making a new bid for popular television series outside of their Originals, including the news of the service acquiring NBC’s canceled series Manifest for a fourth and final season.
While Netflix has the rights for the next five years, it’s likely the streaming service’s new competition will also be preparing to secure the show once the deal expires. The most likely contender is HBO Max, which already holds NBC’s Friends and HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld’s sister series that follows co-creator Larry David after his showrunner fame. Another novel service that will likely want to get its hands on Seinfeld is NBCUniversal’s Peacock, where The Office now calls home and is the show’s original airer. Since Seinfeld is jointly owned by Castle Rock Entertainment, a WarnerBros property, the show will likely be available on HBO Max in 2026.