George Costanza actor Jason Alexander initially disliked Seinfeld season 4’s Jerry storyline, with the concept branching away from the series’ core premise. Seinfeld season 4 followed Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), George, and Kramer (Michael Richards) through their daily lives in New York City, but with a new arc that saw Jerry and George develop a sitcom for NBC called “Jerry.” Mocking Seinfeld’s own premise as a semi-fictional look at Jerry Seinfeld’s everyday life, Jerry was pitched by the titular character and George to NBC executives as a “show about nothing” – which is how Seinfeld is notably remembered.
Before season 4, Seinfeld had never implemented a full-season arc for its characters. Rather, the first three seasons had brand new conflicts in each episode that hardly relied on needing to see previous installments to follow the stories. However, Seinfeld followed several character arcs throughout season 4, including Jerry and George’s TV pilot pitch, George’s relationship with NBC executive Susan Ross (Heidi Swedberg), and Joe Davola (Peter Crombie) trying to kill Jerry.
When Jason Alexander was first told about Seinfeld season 4’s Jerry storyline, he didn’t think it would work. As previously mentioned, Seinfeld had never tried its hand at a story arc before, with Alexander believing this change to go against the very basis of the sitcom’s appeal. Larry David's Seinfeld was meant to be a series about daily minutiae relatable to the masses, whether it be losing a parking spot, making sure the monetary tip is seen by the cashier or having to wait for a half-hour for a table at a restaurant. As such, Alexander explained in Seinfeld’s DVD extras that the prolonged Jerry storyline wouldn’t be relatable to the viewers at home, as only a rare few would have gone through pitching a TV show and working with network executives.
Jason Alexander also originally disliked the storyline because he felt it was too “self-congratulatory.” Ahead of season 4, Seinfeld wasn’t yet the hit TV show that it would soon become, with the entire arc being a meta-reference to itself seeming a bit too conceited. Seinfeld's George Costanza actor clarified that while he knew the Jerry arc would be funny, he had his reservations about it being too boastful or not relatable enough. However, once Bob Balaban showed up on set as NBC executive Russell Dalrymple, and they actually began filming the episodes, Alexander realized he was wrong and that the storyline would work.
It turns out that Jason Alexander’s worries were unnecessary, as Seinfeld season 4, and particularly its Jerry storyline, was received with overwhelming acclaim by critics and audiences alike. The show’s attempt at a season-long storyline was applauded, with many critics pointing out how Seinfeld season 4’s arc proved the sitcom was masterful at observant comedy, whether it be the most mundane of situations or those with extremely high stakes. In the years since, season 4 has often been lauded as the best installment of Seinfeld's nine-season series - proving Jason Alexander's fears to be unfounded.