AceShowbiz - Jerry Seinfeld recently shared his perspective on the hit sitcom Friends, suggesting it was NBC’s effort to replicate the success of his own show, Seinfeld, but with a different appeal.

The comedian made these remarks during his performance at the Netflix Is a Joke festival held at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on Tuesday. While warming up the audience for a comedy bit about his fondness for infomercials, Jerry Seinfeld invited the crowd to guess his favorite television show of all time.

The audience offered several suggestions, including Seinfeld, the groundbreaking NBC sitcom that starred Jerry Seinfeld himself and ran for nine seasons. The show was co-created by Larry David, who later went on to create and star in HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Seinfeld humorously dismissed the idea of watching his own show, saying, "Seinfeld? I am Seinfeld. Why would I watch Seinfeld? Would you go up to your bathroom mirror and go, ‘This is fantastic. I love this show. I’m in every episode’?"

He acknowledged that other guesses like Breaking Bad and Curb Your Enthusiasm were reasonable, but when an audience member mentioned Friends, Jerry Seinfeld offered his theory. He explained that his show premiered in 1989 or 1990, while Friends debuted a few years later, in 1994.

Seinfeld speculated that NBC observed the success of his series and decided to launch a similar format but featuring "good-looking people." He said, "I think NBC was watching my show and went, ‘Hey, this is working pretty well. Why don’t we try the same thing with good-looking people?’ And that was a pretty good idea. I think that kind of worked."

Despite this commentary, Jerry Seinfeld did not reveal what his actual favorite show was, using the topic merely as a segue into his comedic routine about late-night infomercials, specifically referencing Flex Seal sealant advertisements.

The original Seinfeld series featured Jerry Seinfeld alongside Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards, and Jason Alexander as a group of four single friends navigating life in New York City. Similarly, Friends centered on a close-knit group of friends in the Big Apple, starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer.

Friends premiered on NBC in September 1994 and ran for ten seasons, becoming one of the most iconic sitcoms in television history, while Seinfeld began airing in July 1989 and also left a lasting legacy.

In a 2015 ranking by The Hollywood Reporter that surveyed more than 2,800 industry professionals, Friends topped the list of the greatest TV shows, with Seinfeld placing fifth. This highlights the enduring impact both series have had on television and popular culture.

Overall, Jerry Seinfeld’s candid remarks provide insight into how networks may seek to emulate successful formulas by tweaking elements such as casting, while also affirming the significant place both shows hold in TV history.