Jerry Seinfeld reveals his top four episodes of eponymous show, sparking furious debate among fans

Jerry Seinfeld revealed his top four episodes of the iconic 1990s sitcom and some fans believe there will be 'no soup' for the comedian as many disagreed with his list.

The 72-year-old funnyman was recently asked about his four favorite episodes of the NBC series and some of his answers surprised fans.

Seinfeld's answers were: The Contest (season four, episode 11), The Soup Nazi (season seven, episode six), The Merv Griffin Show (season nine, episode six), and The Marine Biologist (season five, episode 14).  

The original interview took place on Ben Persky's The Rushmore Podcast back in May as part of the Netflix is a Joke Festival as Seinfeld, Larry David, and Ari Emanuel were part of the panel.

The clip of Seinfeld has since surfaced on social media, primarily X, with fans of the sitcom chiming in with their four favorite episodes. 

It seems as if Seinfeld has a pretty solid list, however, as the website Ranker - which features crowdsourced and fan voted lists and polls on pop culture, entertainment, sports, and history - agrees with three of the star's four picks.

The Marine Biologist was ranked No. 1, The Soup Nazi was ranked No. 2, and The Contest was ranked No.4 as Ranker's audience put season five, episode 22's The Opposite at No. 3.

Seinfeld's other pick of The Merv Griffin Show was put all the way down at No. 12 on that list. 

The actorhas consistently spoken about the show over the years as he previously revealed the sole mistake he felt that they made on the polarizing finale of the iconic sitcom.

Seinfeld addressed the ending of the NBC comedy which aired 28 years ago as it divided fans and critics.

The final episode saw Seinfeld's titular character sharing a jail cell with main cast pals Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), George (Jason Alexander) and Kramer (Michael Richards) as the series ended its 9-season run with them confined.

The foursome ended up imprisoned after a jury had convicted them for breaking a small-town's Good Samaritan law. 

The star opened up about the controversial ending and even revealed what he saw as a failure during a 2024 appearance on the Q with Tom Powers podcast. 

Seinfeld said 'What we wanted at the time was to see all the great characters that we had had over the years that made the show. 

'And I think the only mistake, if there was one, was leaving them in jail.'

Co-creator Larry David had written the Seinfeld finale as the two found a way to correct the misstep 25 years later with the Curb Your Enthusiasm finale which aired on April 7, 2024.

The finale paralleled Seinfeld's as it wrapped up David's court case with Seinfeld going to Atlanta to show support along with David's close friends Jeff Greene [Jeff Garlin] and his wife Susie [Susie Essman], Richard Lewis, his ex-wife Cheryl [Cheryl Hines], Ted Danson and Leon [J. B. Smoove]. 

David is found guilty of violating Georgia's Election Integrity Act and is sentenced to a year in prison but is quickly freed by Seinfeld due to mistrial.

Seinfeld explained the course correction on the podcast: 'When me and Larry David and Jeff Schaffer, who was also one of the Seinfeld writers, were on the set of Curb that late Friday night, we went, "Yeah, that was maybe our only mistake." 

'And I said, "You know, we can fix it now."'

The comedy legend realized that they had a rare opportunity to hit the punchline on a joke over two-and-a-half decades in the making.

Seinfeld said: 'We all just looked at each other like, 'That's an amazing opportunity.' I realized that we set up a joke 25 years ago. 

'The only possible way that could happen is two TV series that run in succession, with each of the creators playing themselves in the series... the mathematics of what had to be in place for that opportunity to even present.

David and Schaffer addressed the parallels between the finales of the two legendary sitcoms.

Schaffer said: 'It was just incredible, by the way, getting to bring all that full-circle and then getting to do it one last time in the season finale. As Jerry said, it was a joke 26 years in the making. It's neat that you can stick around long enough to do that.'

David hilariously added: 'F*** you! You didn't like the first one? F*** you!'

Curb Your Enthusiasm ended after 12 seasons and 120 episodes nearly 24 years after premiering in October 2000. 

The move to have a second crack at the Seinfeld finale definitely paid off as fans of both shows and critics alike gushed over the ending.

Seinfeld premiered on NBC in July 1989, with its final episode airing in 1998. 

Perhaps the opinions of fans and critics over the Seinfeld finale did not ultimately matter as the original broadcast was the fourth-most watched overall series finale in the US after M*A*S*H*, Cheers, and Fugitive with a whopping 76.3million viewers. 

Meanwhile, Seinfeld recently took a jab at Friends, claiming the show copied his hit sitcom Seinfeld. 

The comedian took part in the Netflix Is a Joke festival at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles last week, where he teasingly mocked the beloved series starring Jennifer Aniston.

'Here's my theory on Friends,' Seinfeld said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 'My show came on ’89, ’90. Friends came on a few years later.'

'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,' Seinfeld - who was recently seen on a rare outing with his son - added.

The topic came up when Seinfeld asked the crowd to guess what his all-time favorite television show was.

One fan shouted out his show Seinfeld, the beloved NBC sitcom that he led for nine seasons.

'Seinfeld? I am Seinfeld. Why would I watch Seinfeld?' he jokingly questioned.

'Would you go up to your bathroom mirror and go, "This is fantastic. I love this show. I'm in every episode."'

Seinfeld co-created the show with Larry David, who went on to create and star on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Seinfeld told fans that Curb Your Enthusiasm and Breaking Bad were good guesses for his favorite show, but never actually named what it was.

Widely regarded to be one of the most iconic comedy shows of all time, Seinfeld followed four single friends in New York City.