Julia Louis-Dreyfus Thought Seinfeld Would Be Canceled Before Season 1's Finale

Julia Louis-Dreyfus' character on "Seinfeld," Elaine Benes, showed up in "The Stakeout," and she immediately bonded with her co-stars Jerry Seinfeld, Michael Richards (Kramer), and Jason Alexander (George Costanza). The foursome's on-screen chemistry was undeniable, but Louis-Dreyfus was still convinced that the fledgling series was sure to be cancelled. "I remember thinking, 'This show is so good, and the network is going to be so stupid to cancel it,'" Louis-Dreyfus said in a 2019 interview with Vanity Fair.

NBC only requested four episodes after the "Seinfeld" pilot, and Louis-Dreyfus worried there'd never even be a Season 1 finale. "You know, a four-order," Dreyfus continued. "A four-episode order is hardly a seal of approval from the network." During the "Seinfeld: How It Began" documentary (via YouTube), Seinfeld felt good about the future, but Richards and Alexander shared Louis-Dreyfus' uneasiness. "We're doing four?" Alexander laughed. "Oh, well, I think I'll hold onto my apartment then."

"I just figured we were goners," Louis-Dreyfus told Vanity Fair during their interview. To the "Seinfeld" star's surprise the Emmy Award-winning show not only persevered, but it went on for a total of nine seasons. During that time, Elaine Benes assembled an impressive highlight reel loaded with memorable moments. Whether she was putting the Soup Nazi (Larry Thomas) out of business, breaking up with her eye-squinting boyfriend, David Puddy (Patrick Warburton), or going toe-to-toe with Frank Costanza (Jerry Stiller), there's no denying that Elaine's inclusion was a genius move that paid dividends.