In the beginning, there was TV. Yada yada yada. “Seinfeld” is coming soon to #hulu. #HuluUpfront15 pic.twitter.com/1f6e88JKuz
— Hulu (@hulu) April 29, 2015
Seinfeld fans will finally be able to stream the hit ’90s show from June. Hulu announced the exclusive acquisition at its annual Hulu Upfront press conference on Wednesday, and executives confirmed that every episode of the show’s nine seasons — including favorites like “The Parking Garage,” “The Maestro,” and most definitely “The Contest” – coming to the subscription version of the service.
The announcement came shortly after a Wall Street Journal report pegged the cost to Hulu at a staggering estimate of $700,000 per episode — which, at 180 episodes, would put Hulu’s total cost somewhere around $126 million. (Variety reported an even bigger estimate of $875,000 per episode.) Either way, that reported figure dwarfs the estimated $500,000 per episode Netflix paid for the streaming rights. Friends for four years – a figure that, again, has only been reported by the Wall Street Journal and not officially confirmed.
This is not the first time Seinfeld has dragged his feet trying to get his episodes into fans’ hands. Shoppers had to wait six years after the 1998 series finale before any episodes were released on DVD, reportedly due to contract negotiation difficulties with the series’ cast.
Jerry Seinfeld was on hand for the announcement, as were actors, directors, and comedians involved in other Hulu-exclusive series, including JJ Abrams, James Franco, Amy Poehler, Billy Eichner, and Jason Reitman. We are still waiting for the Modern Seinfeld Twitter account to post a fake episode description pertaining to the series ending up on a streaming service. Our suggestion: “Kramer gets Jerry’s Hulu account revoked while trying to watch Jerry’s first online special; George tries to get his money back from a failed Hair Restoration Kickstarter.”