Was Seinfeld more popular than Friends?

[Jindrak Mark]

As someone who didn't start watching either until after their original runs ended I knew both were wildly popular but for some reason I was always under the impression that Friends was bigger. I just read though that Seinfeld's finale was watched by 76 million viewers while the Friends finale got 52 million.

Nowadays you never have to channel surf for very long before inevitably coming across re-runs of either one so they're obviously still mega popular today.

Would I be right in thinking that Seinfeld is/was more popular in the US but worldwide Friends was bigger?

[Fake Jesus]

As someone who isn't from the US, I am actually shocked to discover that more people watched Seinfeld than Friends. That's real weird.

[BorneAgain]

Part of it came down to the format of the shows, especially with one being a bit warmer and escapist while the other was about laughing at absurd/self centered people.

Seinfeld was definitely bigger (in the US at least) because it was a pure humor driven sitcom; no learning, no hugging, and fairly minimal continuity. Yes there were gradual developments with George's jobs, and Elaine dating Puddy, but for the most part any new viewer could see their first episode and be about as entertained as a long time fan.

Friends by contrast leaned into a deeper emotional connection to its characters. Not to the point of being a dramedy necessarily, but the development of them (especially romantic relationships) was a cornerstone of the series from the very start. It made it slightly harder to get into if you hadn't watched from the beginning, but typically meant more people were invested in its stories as a result.

I think that's reflected in the discussion about both since; Seinfeld is often talked about in relation to the jokes and comedic moments, while Friends often has the characters and their dynamics at the center of conversation.

[Feyrhausen]

Seinfeld started off with terrible ratings. It took awhile for the actors and writers to find their voices. For instance Jason Alexander played George Woody Allenish until he realized he was basically playing Larry David. Once the got it down they were a pop culture juggernaut. And the original meme factory. Sponge worthy, giddy up, serenity now, etc.

Friends started off huge partly because of Seinfelds influence on Thursday night. But they pretty much hit the ground running as far as their voices. They generated a lot of memes as well, we were on a break for instance. But there was a lot more change from episode to episode and more development in their lives. But where Seinfeld really only had their last season become truly weak where Friends had a few right towards the end that hurt them.

[Mighty Attack Tribble]

Domestically, for sure.

Internationally? Friends left Seinfeld in the dust. In the UK, Seinfeld never really caught on and trailed Friends, Frasier, and Mad About You in the ratings.

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

Oct 3, 2022 16:58:09 GMT -5 Mighty Attack Tribble said:

Domestically, for sure.

Internationally? Friends left Seinfeld in the dust. In the UK, Seinfeld never really caught on and trailed Friends, Frasier, and Mad About You in the ratings.

God imagine being outdrawn by MAD About You

[Cranjis McBasketball]

In Canada and the US, Seinfeld was MASSIVE. It had effects on the real world. Friends was just merely extremely popular.

As others have said, Seinfeld wasn’t that huge overseas.

[Fade]

I know both finale’s felt huge. Also they both peaked at very different times. Guessing everyone’s already answered it, but yeah, Friends definitely felt more popular at its height than Seinfeld to me, but that could have been my age or just the kind of promotion each show was respectively getting.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

Frank Sinatra's death happened on the same night Seinfeld's finale aired

And there were actual comments that when they were rushing him to the hospital, the streets were devoid of the usual traffic because "Everyone was at home, watching the Seinfeld finale"

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Oct 3, 2022 18:20:37 GMT -5 Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] said:

Frank Sinatra's death happened on the same night Seinfeld's finale aired

And there were actual comments that when they were rushing him to the hospital, the streets were devoid of the usual traffic because "Everyone was at home, watching the Seinfeld finale"

TVLand went off the air, leaving only a static shot of a sign that said “Watching Seinfeld”.

The Seinfeld finale was pulling like a million dollar plus per 30 second ads. Numbers only the Super Bowl could dream of.

Seinfeld was a monster of a show.

[Mighty Attack Tribble]

Oct 3, 2022 17:34:53 GMT -5 "Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay said:

God imagine being outdrawn by MAD About You

Hell, throw in the British comedy shows and Seinfeld was way, way down on the ratings list.

One can draw similar comparisons to Only Fools and Horses, which is generally considered the UK's best-loved sitcom but never found an audience in America.

[sfvega]

Friends was huge. It was so big that it's hard to even remember how big Seinfeld was. But yes, Seinfeld was more popular and Friends' popularity for a while was seen as riding on Seinfeld's coattails and a need for people to have something to watch in lieu of Seinfeld. ER was also a ratings juggernaut. NBC was ruling with an iron fist in those days, *insert 30 Rock graph*

[A Platypus Rave]

Yeah, Seinfeld was HUGE... very few sitcoms have come close to it in popularity.

Part of that was just how original it was at the time, people watching it for the first time now might not realize that either because of how many sitcoms have referenced, used twisted or blatantly ripped them off.

[Bobeddy]

Oct 3, 2022 16:58:09 GMT -5 Mighty Attack Tribble said:

Domestically, for sure.

Internationally? Friends left Seinfeld in the dust. In the UK, Seinfeld never really caught on and trailed Friends, Frasier, and Mad About You in the ratings.

Once the internet became more prevalent I was amazed to go online and discover how popular and esteemed Seinfeld was. Living in Ireland and having no-one else I know watch the show growing up led me to believe it was almost a cult show.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Oct 4, 2022 1:29:49 GMT -5 A Platypus Rave said:

Yeah, Seinfeld was HUGE... very few sitcoms have come close to it in popularity.

Part of that was just how original it was at the time, people watching it for the first time now might not realize that either because of how many sitcoms have referenced, used twisted or blatantly ripped them off.

The only ones that talked about in the same air are really the Simpsons, Mary Tyler Moore and the Honeymooners.

There's probably a couple others, but not many.

Seinfeld and David still make millions and millions from residuals each year.

[Derk!]

Friends was more popular, but Seinfeld was actually entertaining.

[Mid-Carder]

As others have said, yes in America for sure but elsewhere it's definitely Friends.

If I remember correctly, during Seinfeld's prime the UK used to show it quite late at night, compared to Friends which was prime time Friday night TV and multiple weekly repeats.

[4real]

I don’t remember ever having a conversation about Seinfeld to anyone in the U.K. Friends was massively popular and you couldn’t really escape it.

Seinfeld had a pretty late time slot from what I remember. Considering Frasier was very popular in the U.K. I’m not quite sure why Seinfeld didn’t take off. Frasier seemed to be on all the time even when it ended it replayed for years.

[I'm Team Bayley and Indi]

Seinfeld started in a decent enough slot in the UK (9pm) on BBC2, but didn't do very well there that it got shunted to a later time period (I think even 11.30pm), aren't the early seasons considered the weakest, maybe a lot of the audience saw them and didn't understand the hype?

[Magnus the Magnificent]

Show's not called "It ain't Friends..."