Will British viewers finally appreciate Seinfeld now that it's on Netflix?

The Independent

Despite being a massive hit in the United States, Seinfeld has had only a cult following among British viewers. In contrast, Friends was widely watched in Britain. "What’s the deal with British people and Seinfeld?" says Louis Chilton. "Ordinarily, American culture has no trouble whatsoever finding a willing audience on our shores. From gritty dramas like The Walking Dead to frothy comedies such as Friends, US TV usually slips unimpeded into the UK’s bloodstream like a lab-grown supervirus. But not Seinfeld. In its native US, Jerry Seinfeld’s ground-breaking sitcom was a hit of obscene proportions. Its creator and star became an immediate household name, and, before long, the richest comedian in the world. The language of the show seeped into the vernacular of the American everyday – from 'yada yada yada' to 'not that there’s anything wrong with that.' When Seinfeld went off air, its finale was watched by more than 75 million people. Here in the UK, however, you’d be forgiven for wondering why there’s so much ado about the show about nothing." As Chilton points out, Seinfeld has been available to British viewers on streaming before, on platforms such as Sky and Amazon. But thanks to Netflix, Seinfeld "is the most accessible it’s ever been" since the streamer paid more than $500 million for global rights to the iconic comedy. ALSO: Netflix transforms Seinfeld's Jerry into a living Lego -- something Jerry Seinfeld did with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show.