Will Seinfeld Star in "The Marriage Ref?"
(Getty)
That's the big question this Friday morning.
Or allow me to re-phrase: It's my big question.
NBC is bringing advertisers to 30 Rock on Monday for it's so-called "In Front" meeting - a cute little play on the word "upfront," which means the fourth place network will be "in front" of its competitors by announcing its development slate.
In any event, the question on everyone's mind should be, and very possibly will be: What about Jerry Seinfeld? Will he appear in his new reality show, "The Marriage Ref?"
"He's not appearing on the show," says his spokesperson, Elizabeth Clark, a little while ago.
And for re-emphasis, she repeated - "he's not appearing. It's his project, he is going to be working on it actively, and it's going to have his [comic] voice. He is an active executive producer - it's going to be his vision but he's not handing it over." And he's not appearing...
But when NBC hears - loudly and clearly - from advertisers on Monday that they want Jerry on-screen, what will Jerry say then?
Would advertisers prefer Seinfeld to have an on-air role as opposed to an off-air one? Silly, silly question!
"Yeah, because he could talk about like with his wife," says Shari Anne Brill, senior v.p. and director of strategic audience analysis for ad firm Carat.
"He's better 'in front' - to borrow an NBC term - of the camera. He had the number one comedy on television...if [he] did a comedy that did half the rating of 'Seinfeld,' it'd still be one of their highest-rated..."
"The Marriage Ref" is a go for this fall, and as you know, this reality series will be exec produced by Seinfeld. A team of celebrities - still to be named - will moderate a married couple's woes, or comment on them; they'll be different celebs each week, though there will also be a "ref" who will determine which spouse is right or wrong in a certain situation. This is Seinfeld's first production gig for the network since "Seinfeld," and as such, probably - make that definitely - the most important new show on its fall lineup.
During a talk at the 92nd Street Y recently, Jerry said of the show: It's not going to "be a serious show, it's not going to be a helping show, as is my tradition. It's gonna really be about the fights that married couples have that are actually quite funny when it's not your marriage."
Here's an absurdly modest proposal: Have Jerry appear as the "ref." Why wouldn't he want to? And why has he so steadfastly refused to appear on the show?
My Speculation: If he did appear and the show flops, then the one person not yet cursed by the Seinfeld curse would also be cursed. The perfect post-"Seinfeld" career would no longer be perfect. By not appearing on screen, he avoids this fate. But doesn't Jerry owe his new creation every possible chance of success, and isn't the most obvious means of assuring a chance of success to appear on-screen?
Expect JS to provide more details Monday...