Julia Louis-Dreyfus reveals huge ‘Seinfeld’ controversy caused ‘discord’ on set
It was not a funny story.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus recalled a heated argument that took place between “Seinfeld” producer Larry David and the executives of the production company Castle Rock Entertainment while they were filming a Season 2 episode of the sitcom.
In the ninth episode of that season, titled “The Deal,” Louis-Dreyfus’ character Elaine Benes and her best friend, Jerry Seinfeld, sleep together.
However, the duo promises to remain firm friends with benefits.
“There was a lot of controversy about that because Jerry and Elaine slept together in that episode and they made a deal about it,” Louis-Dreyfus revealed on Thursday’s episode of the “Awards Chatter” podcast, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The actor said there were “conflicts” between David, 78, and Castle Rock “about turning this into a will or not, right?”
Louis-Dreyfus added, “Larry was upset.
David eventually got his way, as Elaine and Jerry remained best friends throughout the show – which ran for 9 seasons from 1989 to 1998.
Meanwhile, Louis-Dreyfus, 65, had his own complaints about the start of the series.
It turned out that her character, Elaine, was “not in the pilot” and the project almost never went off the air.
“NBC didn’t want to do this show, but a guy named Rick Ludwin, who was in charge of special programs at NBC, decided to somehow keep the show running and budgeted for the night shows in these four episodes,” he said. “God love Rick Ludwin, he’s dead, but he was a great man, and we should really thank him.”
When Louis-Dreyfus started filming, he knew he was onto something special.
“Comedies on television have a rhythm they are used to, and I’m not saying anything bad, it was just the way it was,” he pondered. “This show didn’t. This show was almost a joke in a way.”
The “Veep” actress said: “I saw the difference on the page, and I thought, wow, this is wild.
Along with Louis-Dreyfus and Seinfeld, 72, the sitcom starred Michael Richards and Jason Alexander as four friends navigating New York City life.
Co-created by Seinfeld and David, the sitcom won many awards during its time on the air.
In 1996, Louis-Dreyfus took home the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
