Julia Louis-Dreyfus says the idea of a ' Seinfeld curse' was 'moronic' and 'invented by the media'
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Curse? What curse?
In the years following the game-changing success of Seinfeld, its three non-titular stars (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards) all failed to launch new sitcoms with them as leads. This led many to believe they were plagued by the "Seinfeld curse," which postulated it was impossible for the actors to find similar success on another show.
Louis-Dreyfus has thoroughly disproved the curse since, thanks to her numerous accolades for the Emmy-winning series The New Adventures of Old Christine and Veep. But she thinks the idea never had any merit anyway.
"It was invented by the media," Louis-Dreyfus said in a new interview with Rolling Stone. "They thought it was clever. You don't need me to prove it wrong, it was ridiculous! It made no sense. I was amazed that it had legs, because it was so moronic. I don't know how else to say it!"
Andrew Eccles/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images 'Seinfeld' stars Michael Richards, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Jerry Seinfeld
The idea of the Seinfeld curse materialized after a handful of its cast members' next projects flopped. The Michael Richards Show lasted only eight episodes on NBC, and Alexander's ABC sitcom Bob Patterson and CBS sitcom Listen Up! lasted only one season each. Louis-Dreyfus' first post-Seinfeld sitcom, Watching Ellie, was canceled after two seasons, but her next project struck a chord with viewers and critics. The New Adventures of Old Christine, in which she starred as a woman navigating her post-divorce life, earned her an Emmy and ran for five seasons.
"I'm not somebody who really believes in curses, but curse this, baby!" Louis-Dreyfus memorably declared during her 2006 Emmy acceptance speech.
That victory wasn't an aberration either. Louis-Dreyfus went on to win six more Emmy awards for Best Actress for her later work as U.S. Vice President Selina Meyer on Veep, earning her the record for the most Primetime Emmys won for the same role, and tying her with Cloris Leachman for the most Primetime Emmys won by a single performer, with eight.
Louis-Dreyfus isn't the only Seinfeld veteran to have poo-pooed the curse over the years. In a 2009 interview with Esquire, the series' co-creator Larry David called it "the most absurd, silliest, stupidest thing" and noted how few TV shows ever achieve the success of Seinfeld. The popularity of David's own Curb Your Enthusiasm on HBO would also seem to dismiss the alleged curse endured by those involved in Seinfeld.
It's also important to recognize what an anomaly the show was. As Louis-Dreyfus told Rolling Stone in the new interview, "It was very outside the box at the time. This was nothing like the sitcoms that were on television at the time. It had a different rhythm and comedic architecture."
Thankfully, those who missed it when it originally aired can now watch Seinfeld on Netflix — or catch its syndicated reruns on TV, where it still dominates.
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