Jerry and Newman’s rivalry in Seinfeld is one of the greatest sitcom feuds ever, but was there any point to it, and how and when did it start?
Newman (Wayne Knight) is Jerry’s arch-nemesis in Seinfeld, but it was never once revealed why the two characters hated each other. Seinfeld has a lot of great supporting characters, such as Tim Whatley (Bryan Cranston), the dentist who converted to Judaism just so he can tell Jewish jokes. However, the funniest supporting character in the sitcom by far is Newman, who became something of a sidekick to Kramer (Michael Richards). According to a Reddit AMA, even Jerry Seinfeld thinks Newman is the best supporting character in the series (via Reddit). Between his diabolical plans and generally negatively commentating on Jerry’s life, Newman is the thorn in Jerry’s side.
Newman became an increasingly frequent cast member as the series went on, and he could easily have been considered the fifth member of Jerry’s crew by the finale. However, Newman was at his absolute best when he was going out of his way to make Jerry’s life as hard as possible. Whether Newman was accusing Jerry of mail fraud or telling Jerry’s parents that the comedian was making out during Schindler’s List, it’s the greatest feud in sitcom history. Ironically, even though Seinfeld loves the character, TV Jerry hates Newman’s guts, but it isn’t clear when and why that hatred started.
Jerry Seinfeld Had No Real Reason To Hate Newman – That’s The Point
While Newman is suspected of being a serial killer, he’s nothing more than a general annoyance in Seinfeld, which makes his presence that much funnier. That perfectly sums up why Jerry hates Newman, as there is no real reason for Jerry to hate his neighbor. Seinfeld explained, “The real answer, why I hated Newman, is because it just seemed funny to hate Newman… There was no real reason for me to hate Newman. He never did anything bad to me, it was just fun. It was fun to hate him” (via Slash Film). However, the feud also mirrors Seinfeld’s favorite superhero, Superman.
In the AMA, Seinfeld also revealed, “There’s no superhero that doesn’t have an evil nemesis, and I got to have one. And I love that nobody ever asks ‘Why didn’t you like Newman?'” The fact that there’s no reason for Newman and Jerry to hate each other lends credence to Seinfeld being a show about nothing. However, if anything, Jerry is the villain for being rude and outright cruel to Newman for no reason, which could’ve been what caused Newman to act out so often. Nevertheless, debating whether it was Jerry’s rudeness or Newman’s schemes that started the feud is like asking what came first, the chicken or the egg.
Newman’s Actor Has A Different Reason For Seinfeld’s Ire
Knight believes that it wasn’t just Jerry that hated him but everyone, but nobody bothered to raise the issue except Jerry. The actor explained, “He was the only one who expressed it. Nobody really liked him” (via YouTube). There has to be at least one exception, as Kramer genuinely had a connection with the mailman. However, Newman and Kramer could simply have been civil with each other and agreed to work together because they were so confident in their money-making schemes. Either way, there’s no particular reason for any of the characters to hate Newman from the get-go in Seinfeld, and that’s what makes the disdain for Newman so funny.
