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1Where It All Started
NBC//Getty ImagesJerry Seinfeld began his career in comedy clubs and first debuted his stand-up act in 1976. He grew in prominence in the early '80s thanks to gigs on The Tonight Show.
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2A Creative Team
David Hume Kennerly//Getty ImagesSeinfeld turned to Saturday Night Live writer, Larry David, when he was given the opportunity from NBC to develop a sitcom. Together the two created the show and worked on it together until David left after season seven, only to return for the finale in 1998.
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3Shooting the Pilot
NBC//Getty ImagesThe pilot was filmed under the title The Seinfeld Chronicles and the concept of the show was about how comedians found their material. It was ordered by NBC, but due to bad test audience scores, the cast and crew didn't think it was going to be picked up.
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4A Rough Start
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5Adding Elaine
NBC//Getty ImagesThere are a lot of things that are different about the pilot and the rest of the show, including that it didn't include Elaine Benes. It wasn't until after the show got picked up that the network began looking for the gang's newest cast member and gave the role to up-and-coming comic Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
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6More Casting Changes
NBC//Getty ImagesAs the show retooled its casting, Seinfeld also circled back to one of the show's current characters: Kramer. In the pilot, Michael Richards's character was named Kessler and was based on David's ex-neighbor.
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7The Concept of Kramer
NBC//Getty ImagesRichards morphed the role into an eccentric oddball and struck comedy gold with his slapstick humor.
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8Inspiration for George
David Hume Kennerly//Getty ImagesDavid drew inspiration for many of the episodes of Seinfeld from his life and the character of George was loosely based off of him. In fact, the storyline of George quitting his job and returning a few days later really happened to David.
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9Jerry's Apartment
NBC//Getty ImagesThe set of Jerry's home depicted a typical New York City apartment during the time. But super fans have spotted some inconsistencies on the set over the years, like the bookshelf and the door number.
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10The Iconic Diner
NBC//Getty ImagesThe diner was the gang's meeting place over the course of the show. Here, David is seen giving the cast a few notes between takes.
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11Comedic Roots
NBC//Getty ImagesSeinfeld wasn't the only comedian in the cast. Julia Louis-Dreyfus got her start as a cast member on Saturday Night Live before moving over to the sitcom.
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12The Show About Nothing
NBC//Getty ImagesThe sitcom became known as "the show about nothing," which is exactly what Seinfeld and David pictured when they first pitched it to the network.
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13Always Goofy...Even in Real Life
Robin Platzer//Getty ImagesSeinfeld costars, Louis-Dreyfus and Seinfeld attend an NBC network party together.
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14Jerry's Opening Monologues
NBC//Getty ImagesSince the show is conceptuality tied to stand-up, most episodes opened with a clip of Seinfeld's routine. After that comes the famous opening music, but many people don't know that the theme song's rhythm was different for each episode.
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15Kramer on Set
NBC//Getty ImagesRichards is seen preparing for a scene in an office setting where Kramer will end up doing who knows what.
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16A Threat to Leave
NBC//Getty ImagesDuring season 3, Jason Alexander was reportedly angry after being left out of an episode and threatened to quit the show. But things were cleared up and he stayed on during the remainder of the series.
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17A Live Audience
NBC//Getty ImagesThe sitcom was taped in front of a live studio audience. Here, Seinfeld is seen warming up the crowd before taping an episode.
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18A Practice Run
NBC//Getty ImagesSeinfeld runs through a scene with guest stars Jeremy Piven (left) and Larry Hankin (right).
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19Backstage Chats
David Turnley//Getty ImagesAlexander and Louis-Dreyfus are photographed enjoying a catered meal backstage while filming the show.
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20Getting Camera Ready
NBC//Getty ImagesSeinfeld prepares to tape an episode by reading through his lines in the hair and makeup chair.
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