Movies - TV
Larry David Put His Job
On The Line For A Series-Defining Seinfeld Episode
By MATT RAINIS
Larry David is willing to push the limits of comedy, unafraid to tackle any topic, and this attitude led to one of the most famous episodes of "Seinfeld” —"The Contest." The episode centers around the main characters having a contest to see who could go the longest without masturbating and toed the line of being too risqué for television at the time.
Initially, David didn't even want to share the idea for the episode, saying, “[...] I didn't think there was any way the show actually could get done on the network.” However, once Jerry Seinfeld was on board, Larry was ready to make the contest a reality.
David feared for his job if the NBC executives didn't like the episode, even considering quitting, but he recalled their reaction after the read-through: “They just said, 'Very funny.' And I was shocked." David's ability to turn awkward real-life scenarios into comedy is why "Seinfeld" still holds up as one of the all-time great sitcoms.