The Top 4 ‘Seinfeld' Episodes in the Entire Series, According to Jerry Seinfeld

During a live taping of the Rushmore Podcast, hosted by Ari Emanuel and Ben Persky, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David spoke about the episodes of their hit show that they personally consider the best in the series. Out of all 180 episodes of Seinfeld, which ran from 1989 until 1998, they each named their personal "Mount Rushmore." In other words, their top four favorite episodes.

Seinfeld said that his top four episodes were "The Contest," "The Soup Nazi," "The Merv Griffin Show," and "The Marine Biologist."

"The Contest" was a raunchy episode about the group betting on who could be the 'master of their domain' for the longest period of time. During the podcast, David revealed he carried around a notebook for two years with the idea for that episode, convinced no one would want it, and was shocked when Seinfeld was a fan.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, "David was so convinced that NBC wouldn't let them film this script that he was ready to quit on the spot once he got word. But that directive never came. However, ‘after the table read, the ad sales [team] went nuts,' [Warren] Littlefield shared from the audience. Still, the episode was filmed and aired and is widely considered one of the best of the entire series."

Related: 1962 ‘The Twilight Zone' Episode Was Ranked as Having the Best Plot Twist in the Entire Series

The next episode on Seinfeld's list, which was arranged in no particular order, was "Soup Nazi." This episode was about a temperamental soup vendor with strict rules for serving his soup. "The Merv Griffin Show" was about Kramer rebuilding the set of the Merv Griffin Show in his apartment. And "The Marine Biologist" was about George posing as a marine biologist to impress a date.

David also gave a list of his top four favorite episodes. He stated they were "The Contest," "The Opposite," "The Puffy Shirt," and "The Pen." "The Opposite" was about George listening to the opposite of his every instinct in an attempt to turn his life around. "The Puffy Shirt" was about Jerry accidentally agreeing to wear an ugly, puffy shirt on the Today show. "The Pen" was about an astronaut pen that a man gifted Jerry that caused drama in a retirement community.

Emanuel and Persky, the hosts of the podcast, also listed their favorite episodes. In the end, the group agreed that the best Seinfeld episodes of all time were "The Contest," "The Opposite," "The Puffy Shirt," and "The Marine Biologist."

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This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 4:03 PM.