# In 1988, Jerry Seinfeld missed out on a role he would always regret losing. A year later, ‘Seinfeld’ premiered

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/in-1988-jerry-seinfeld-missed-out-on-a-role-he-would-always-regret-losing-a-year-later-seinfeld-premiered/
- Published: 2026-10-23T23:15:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-24T00:10:35+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/in-1988-jerry-seinfeld-missed-out-on-a-role-he-would-always-regret-losing-a-year-later-seinfeld-premiered/
- Topics: Music

## Key points

- Seinfeld lost an ABC sitcom role to Howie Mandel in 1988.
- Soon afterwards, he and Larry David developed the idea for *Seinfeld*.
- Seinfeld has continued to favour stand-up over another sitcom.

## Summary

Jerry Seinfeld missed out on the ABC sitcom *Past Imperfect* in 1988, losing the role to Howie Mandel. The rejection came just before he began discussing a new comedy idea with Larry David, which eventually became *Seinfeld*, the sitcom that made him a television star.

At the time, Seinfeld was busy with stand-up, performing around 300 club dates a year and appearing regularly on *The Tonight Show*. He later said he regretted missing the role, but also admitted he did not want to be in a sitcom. The article suggests that not getting the part left room for the conversation with David, while Seinfeld’s continued preference for stand-up helps explain why he has not made another sitcom since *Seinfeld* ended.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.