27% Of Fans Think This Seinfeld Character Is The Least Likable
"Seinfeld" — one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, with some of the most iconic television characters ever created. The series ends with Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), George (Jason Alexander), and Kramer (Michael Richards) in jail for not helping a stranger who was robbed on the street right in front of them. The finale episode highlighted all the horrible things the foursome did over nine seasons, somewhat justifying their imprisonment — although that's up to each fan's interpretation.
Since most of the characters on "Seinfeld" were rather apathetic and devoid of sentiment, it could make them unlikeable from time to time. We decided to figure out who fans thought was the most unlikable of the bunch, so we put it to a vote for our readers at Looper. The poll included the four leads and two of the most significant secondary characters — Frank Costanza (Jerry Stiller) and Newman (Wayne Knight). The results were somewhat surprising.
The least likable Seinfeld character was not a lead
Over 550 Looper readers from the United States took our "Seinfeld" poll, and an overwhelming majority selected Newman as the least likable character. With 27% of the vote thrown his way, Newman solidifies himself among our audience as the most unlikable of the "Seinfeld" bunch. There are definitely some smaller or one-off characters who are the absolute worst, but when it comes to the big-timers, Newman takes the cake. The lazy postal worker debuted in Season 3, Episode 15 ("The Suicide") and would go on to annoy Jerry at every turn for 43 more episodes. Newman became a staple in Season 4 and beyond and appeared in the 1998 finale as well — happier than ever to see his nemesis get jail time. He was undoubtedly a funny recurring character, but he truly depicted what a really terrible neighbor was, something the audience likely found highly relatable.
Landing in the number two spot of our poll was George Costanza. This should come as no surprise, really, because the neurotic best friend of Jerry was one nit-picky and selfish son-of-a-gun. George took home just over 18% of the vote, making him the most unlikable of the four main "Seinfeld" characters. Jason Alexander played the part to perfection and created a dishonest, self-loathing, whiny, middle-aged man who never got a W. Coincidentally, in a poll posted to the official "Seinfeld" YouTube account, voters rated George as the most immoral character on the sitcom. Alexander was shocked at the results and shared his surprise on Twitter. "Wow, this kinda stings. I mean, come on...more immoral than Newman??" he wrote.
Where does the rest of the Seinfeld cast fall?
According to our poll, the third least-likable character on "Seinfeld" is Kramer, with 15.78% of the vote. Jerry's wacky next-door neighbor is probably the most considerate and moral of the bunch, but in terms of likability with our readers, he ranks right in the middle. Perhaps it's because Kramer is so quirky and dependent that thinking of having him as a neighbor is exhausting in and of itself.
Jerry ranks just above Kramer, with 15.43% of poll takers selecting him as the least likable. Outside of when Patty (Lori Laughlin) makes Jerry realize his feelings in Season 9, the comedian is mostly a thoughtless person when it comes to others. Jerry looks out for number one and is often unaffected when bad things happen to other people. He's not a giving person in relationships and doesn't seem to take his friendships seriously either — which definitely makes a person unlikeable.
With just over 12% of the vote is Elaine, making her the most likable character out of the four leads. Elaine is very much like Jerry, so it makes sense they'd rank alongside one another in the poll. She doesn't care much about the men she dates, especially Puddy (Patrick Warburton), who she tosses aside whenever she's slightly annoyed. She also quickly dismisses her friends and is ready to replace all of them with new guys from the Bizarro world without blinking an eye in Season 8.
With the least amount of the vote was Frank Costanza, clocking in at 10.64% in the poll. Based on the characters we offered, this makes him the most likable on "Seinfeld." Jerry Stiller's work as Frank is probably his best in such an incredible career. The easily-agitated father of George was an absolute scene stealer, never failing to deliver the laughs. After Stiller's passing in 2020, the "Seinfeld" cast gushed over their co-star on social media — proving he was just as likable off-screen as he was on.