Jerry Seinfeld is currently promoting his latest Netflix stand-up special, 23 Hours to Kill. It was obviously filmed several months ago, pre-pandemic, and the humor apparently “hits” differently in the middle of a global pandemic. To promote the special, Seinfeld chatted with the NY Times about life, quarantines, social distancing and the future of comedy. He chatted with the NYT via Zoom, by the way. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:

When the pandemic felt serious to him: “I knew instantly. I called my tour producer and said, “Get ready to start canceling dates.” It was like running in front of a tsunami. Let’s head for the hills. But part of your makeup in this profession is adaptation. You just become highly adaptable to everything. So this is just another thing to adapt to.”

Whether he feels like being funny right now: “Not really, to tell you the truth. I don’t really feel that funny. It’s hurting so many people, so brutally. I’m not in the mood to be funny. It’s like you’re a bird and then suddenly they change your cage. You’re just not sure who you are now.

Whether the pandemic made him feel validated as a neat freak: “I’m not a germophobe. I’m more about organized behavior routines. Yes, I do put my toothpaste on the same spot all the time. I’m not O.C.D., but I love routine. I get less depressed with routine. You’re just a trained animal in a circus. I like that feeling: Now we’re going to do this trick, now we’re going to do that trick. That makes me feel better. I don’t want too much mental freedom. I have too much of that anyway.

Having his kids home all day, every day: “There’s some difficulty, but I really like all that extra time. My kids are teenagers and you would never see them, normally — no idea where they are or what they’re doing. Now I really feel like I’m getting to see who they are. Teenagers want to escape their parents so desperately, and they don’t want you to see who they’ve become. I remember that from my teenage years. You want to leave behind and adopt this new personality that you just thought of.

Whether stand-up at comedy clubs will end now: “No chance of that. People are going to go back, first of all, because laughter is the greatest feeling of release that there is. And No. 2, the comedians are going to adapt so much quicker than everyone else. The TV shows won’t quite know what to make. The movie people might not know what to make. The comedians, within three nights, will know what to be doing. Because you’ll get that feedback instantly of what works and what doesn’t.

The poignancy of loving New York right now: “No, if you love the city, you still love it. I was talking to somebody yesterday, and they just said the word “Williamsburg,” and I got such a pang of longing to be in Williamsburg. I miss the city a lot. The vibe of it — it’s postponed, let’s say.

Whether this will be his last Netflix special: “I don’t know. It feels like that to me. I like guys like Cary Grant that didn’t want to go past a certain point on film. Live is different — I’ll perform forever. But on film, there’s a point where — I don’t know. I’ll see when I get there.

[From The NY Times]

I enjoyed this piece more than I thought I would. I’ve never been a Seinfeld stan, but I find it interesting to hear what he’s got to say about the current energy of comedy, the future of comedy and all of that. There have absolutely been moments (in recent years) where he sounds like an out-of-touch douche, but… I don’t know, he was mostly fine here. I think people will want comfort in the brave new pandemic world, and that includes comfort-comedy, safe comedy, old-school comedy. I bet he’s right that comedians will have brand new sets about the pandemic too, while TV shows and movies will struggle with how to deal with the issue.

Photos courtesy of WENN.