Seinfeld

Stories

Out of the gloom came a comedy golden age

(This is the 14th chapter of the book-in-progress, “Television, and How It Got That Way.” To read at all (so far) in order, click “News and Quick Comments” and scroll to the headline that starts, “The Book.”)

At times, TV people decide that situation comedies are doomed. One such time came seven years before “Seinfeld” (shown here) would start a comedy comeback.
In the 1984-85 season, “Dallas” and “Dynasty” were at the top; two more soaps (“Knots Landing” and “Falcon Crest”) were in the top 10. Viewers watched light action (“A-Team,” “Magnum,” “Riptide”), but not comedies: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 7, 2025
News and Quick Comments

Ludwin: the “kind” guy who saved “Seinfeld”

As “Weekend Update” ended on “Saturday Night Live,” this memorial photo of Rick Ludwin was shown.
That must have confused viewers. Who, exactly, was Rick Ludwin? And why didn’t he look like the sort of people – musicians and actors and such – that “SNL” usually memorializes?
Ludwin was an NBC executive for 32 years, including key decades as head of latenight and variety shows. He left in 2012, after a falling-out with Jay Leno, and died of organ failure on Nov. 10 at 71.
He was the one permanent force at a network that kept changing. He was, after all, the guy who had saved “Seinfeld.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 17, 2019