Seinfeld And Friends' Crossover Had the Darkest Condition in Sitcom History

Published Aug 23, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT Derek is the Training Lead for ScreenRant. Before his current position, he spent 20 years working in games, TV, and film while also writing for several entertainment sites. Derek is also the co-host of three pop culture podcasts: Across the Omniverse, The Bad Batch, and Watch Men. Sign in to your ScreenRant account It can be a lot of fun when two TV shows crossover. The many Arrowverse events were a great time for fans, and the Cougartown/Community crossover is a masterpiece in meta storytelling. And, in the 1990s, NBC found itself in a situation that was ripe with crossover potential. Their massive Thursday night lineup, known as Must See TV at the time, consisted of a bunch of hit sitcoms all set in New York City. Looking to capitalize on the popularity of their shows and the shared location, NBC tried to have all the shows connect from time to time. One event, called "Blackout Thursday," the night would see three shows — Mad About You, Friends, and Madman of the People — share a scenario where all of Manhattan suffers a blackout. Then there was "Star-Crossed Thursday," which saw characters from Friends, The Single Guy, and Caroline in the City all interact. And, of course, Lisa Kudrow played Phoebe on Friends, but would also show up on Mad About You as her sister, Ursula. But in all these crossovers, one show was conspicuously missing: Seinfeld. And while Seinfeld did end up crossing over with Mad About You and NewsRadio at different points, Jerry and the gang never shared the screen with the pals from Friends. And, supposedly, it was all because of Larry David. NBC Wanted Seinfeld And Friends To Cross Over The two biggest sitcoms of the 1990s were Friends and Seinfeld. And, since they both aired on NBC on the same night, the network really wanted them to come together for an event that would surely lead to huge ratings. The execs didn't much care what would happen, so long as Monica and Kramer — or any pairing — would share the screen. Just the idea of the characters of two of the biggest shows of all time meeting had them salivating over how much they could demand for ad time. By all accounts, the people behind Friends were up for it. After all, they had no issue with Chandler appearing on Caroline in the City or Ross popping in for an episode of The Single Guy. But over at the Seinfeld offices, the request wasn't as welcomed. Leading the charge was Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who was steadfastly against the idea. With so many seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm to watch, it isn't hard to imagine the rant David gave when the concept was pitched, but, by all accounts, only his fellow Seinfeld writers and producers heard it. Whatever happened behind closed doors, the Seinfeld crew knew that saying "no" wouldn't be enough to keep NBC from pushing the idea, so they came up with a more inventive way to get out of the situation. Larry David Agreed To A Crossover, But With One Specific Caveat Sitcom writers like the ones who worked on Seinfeld don't just come up with wild ideas for shows, they come up with them for their lives as well. So, when NBC pushed for their show to cross over with Friends, they didn't want to look like they weren't willing to work with the network and their fellow Thursday night show. They decided that the best way to get out of the problem was to come up with an idea so bonkers, NBC would drop the whole concept altogether. It was writer Peter Mehlman who came up with the idea. Instead of a flat out "no." Larry David would tell NBC that they would do the crossover as long as one character — Ross from Friends — died in it. Whether or not David actually called NBC and made the demand is questionable — some claim he did, others, including Mehlman, say David just laughed at the idea then told NBC no — but it is easy to imagine David going to that level just to get out of doing something he didn't want to do. And, if he did, it's pretty obvious that it wasn't a personal attack on David Schwimmer, who played Ross. David would later work with Schwimmer during a season-long arc on Curb Your Enthusiasm where they both star in Mel Brooks' The Producers on Broadway. But it's hard not to wonder what would have happened if Larry David made the demand and the execs at NBC and on Friends agreed to it. Based on the antics David played out on Seinfeld and Curb, it's easy to imagine him playing the whole thing out, waiting and hoping that, at some point, someone will put an end to it all so he can go back to doing what he wanted to do. Seinfeld 9/10 Release Date 1989 - 1998-00-00 Network NBC Seinfeld is a television sitcom that follows stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld and his three eccentric friends, George, Elaine, and Kramer, as they navigate everyday life in New York City during the 1990s. Premiering in 1989, the series humorously explores the mundane and often trivial aspects of social interactions. Cast Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Michael Richards, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ruth Cohen, Wayne Knight, Larry David, Heidi Swedberg, Christopher Darga, Don Perry, Fern Fitzgerald, William Jackson, John Apicella, LaRita Shelby, Lou DiMaggio, Michele Maika, Mike "Boogie" Malin, Paul O'Neill, Amit Itelman, George Adams, Sergio Kato, Blaire Baron, Pete G. Papanickolas, Jack Esformes, Layne Beamer, Barbara Stock, Mariska Hargitay, Carol Kane, Judge Reinhold Showrunner Larry David Directors David Steinberg, David Owen Trainor, Art Wolff, Jason Alexander Writers Darin Henry, Bruce Eric Kaplan, Bill Masters, Bruce Kirschbaum, Steve O'Donnell, Tom Leopold, Don McEnery, Greg Daniels, Jon Hayman, Kit Boss, Lawrence H. Levy, Matt Goldman, Matt Selman, Billy Kimball, Fred Stoller, Charlie Rubin, Steve Lookner, Steve Skrovan Main Genre Comedy Creator(s) Larry David, Jerry Seinfeld Executive Producer(s) Alec Berg, Fred Barron, George Shapiro, Howard West, Jeff Schaffer, Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David Producers Andy Ackerman, Andy Robin, Carol Leifer, David Mandel, Elaine Pope, Gregg Kavet, Jennifer Crittenden, Joan Van Horn, Larry Charles, Marjorie Gross, Max Pross, Nancy Sprow, Peter Mehlman, Spike Feresten, Steve Koren, Suzy Mamann Greenberg Seasons 9 Friends 8/10 Release Date 1994 - 2004-00-00 Network NBC Friends is a television sitcom that debuted in 1994, revolving around six young New Yorkers navigating the complexities of adulthood. The series highlights their friendship as they support each other through personal and professional challenges, encapsulating the ups and downs of life in a comedic and relatable manner. Cast Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, James Michael Tyler, Elliott Gould, Lisa Thornhill, Steve Zahn, Michael McKean, Jana Marie Hupp, Carlo Imperato, Brittney Powell, Lea Thompson, Isabella Rossellini, Alec Baldwin, Elinor Donahue, John Allen Nelson, Anita Barone, Jill Goodacre, Jason Graae, Taylor Negron, Lilyan Chauvin, Nicky Katt Showrunner Marta Kauffman Directors Kevin S. Bright, Gary Halvorson, Michael Lembeck, James Burrows, Gail Mancuso, Peter Bonerz, David Schwimmer, Robby Benson, Shelley Jensen, Terry Hughes, Dana De Vally Piazza, Alan Myerson, Pamela Fryman, Steve Zuckerman, Thomas Schlamme, Roger Christiansen, Sheldon Epps, Arlene Sanford, David Steinberg, Joe Regalbuto, Mary Kay Place, Paul Lazarus, Sam Simon, Todd Holland Writers Jeff Astrof, Mike Sikowitz, Brian Boyle, Patty Lin, Bill Lawrence, R. Lee Fleming Jr. Main Genre Comedy Creator(s) Marta Kauffman, David Crane Executive Producer(s) David Crane, Marta Kauffman, Greg Malins Producers Todd Stevens, Wendy Knoller, Scott Silveri, Shana Goldberg-Meehan, Andrew Reich, Ted Cohen, Ellen Plummer, Sherry Bilsing, Brian Buckner, Sebastian Jones, Michael Borkow, Michael Curtis, Noel Bright, Seth Kurland, Dana Klein, Mark Kunerth, Richard Choi, Robert Carlock, Ira Ungerleider, Betsy Borns Seasons 10