How Rob Reiner Saved Seinfeld From Being Canceled On NBC

"Seinfeld" wasn't always a sensation. Over its first few seasons (beginning in 1989), the sitcom about nothing felt like too much to do about nothing in the eyes of NBC executives. Did people really want to watch whole episodes of unpleasant people either bickering around a diner table or getting into deeply embarrassing trouble, while, say, making out during a screening of the Steven Spielberg masterpiece "Schindler's List?"

They did, but they didn't know it initially, which, again, caused series creators Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David some trouble with the leadership at the network.

It's a little bizarre that there was any consternation at all. The series wasn't a breakout hit, but it was routinely ranking somewhere in the 40s in the Nielsen ratings and garnering enthusiastic reviews from critics. The ensemble finally clicked once Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Elaine was made a regular member of the cast, and the writing was consistently strong if not inspired (as evidenced by the early-in-the-run classic "The Stake Out"). And yet "Seinfeld" kept finding itself on the chopping block, so much so that a sitcom veteran and A-list filmmaker had to finally step in to ensure the series' future on NBC.

During an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Rob Reiner revealed that he personally had to go to the mat for "Seinfeld" to keep it from getting canceled after its second season. What was the problem? Per Reiner, "They said 'We can't have this show. What is this show? It's just people sitting around talking."

This was specifically in reference to "The Chinese Restaurant," an all-time great "Seinfeld" episode in which the gang impatiently kills time while waiting for a seat at the titular eating establishment. Network bigwig Brandon Tartikoff, once credited with saving NBC, was entirely out on the show. "So I went in there," said Reiner, "And I had a screaming, crazy thing with Brandon Tartikoff. I begged him. I said, 'Please, I promise you there'll be stories. You can't take this show off the air. It's going to be one of the great shows you've ever had.'"

How did Reiner have enough pull to save a network sitcom in 1991? Not only was he sitcom royalty as a member of the Bunker clan as Meathead on "All in the Family," he was also arguably the most bankable director in Hollywood. That year, he was riding high off a six-film streak that included "This Is Spinal Tap," "The Sure Thing," "Stand by Me," "The Princess Bride," "When Harry Met Sally..." and "Misery," and was about to score a blockbuster courtroom drama with "A Few Good Men." Reiner was a proverbial 800-lb gorilla, so when he threw his weight around just about everyone in Hollywood felt it.

The rest is television history. Tartikoff buckled, "Seinfeld" became "Seinfeld," and... yadda yadda yadda.