Seinfeld was a comedian.
Seinfeld is an American sitcom that originally ran for nine seasons on NBC , from 1989 to 1998 . Set predominantly in an apartment building in Manhattan 's Upper West Side in New York City , the show features a handful of Jerry 's friends and acquaintances , particularly best friend George Costanza ( Jason Alexander ) , former girlfriend Elaine Benes ( Julia Louis-Dreyfus ) , and neighbor across the hall Cosmo Kramer ( Michael Richards ) . Seinfeld is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential sitcoms ever made . The show 's most renowned episodes include `` The Chinese Restaurant '' , `` The Parking Garage '' , and `` The Contest '' . In 2013 , the Writers Guild of America voted it the No. 2 Best Written TV Series of All Time ( second to The Sopranos ) .