The series was often described as "a show about nothing." However, in 2014, Seinfeld stated: "The pitch for the show, the real pitch, when Larry and I went to NBC in 1988, was we want to show how a comedian gets his material. The show about nothing was just a joke in an episode many years later, and Larry and I to this day are surprised that it caught on as a way that people describe the show, because to us it's the opposite of that." David similarly commented: "I like taking the worst qualities that a person has and trying to make something funny out of it. Doesn’t everybody do terrible things and have terrible thoughts? Just by trying to be as funny, you’re going to deal with a lot of things that are real, so the show’s really about something. The whole thing about the show being about nothing is ridiculous." Much of the show's humor is based upon repeated use of irony, incongruity and (oftentimes unfortunate) coincidences.
What do Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David have to say about Seinfeld being called "a show about nothing"?
Larry and Jerry are surprised that the "a show about nothing" phrase caught on as a way that people describe the show, and they are not fond of that description of the show.

Larry David commented, "...the show’s really about something. The whole thing about the show being about nothing is ridiculous". Larry states that the show is about "taking the worst qualities that a person has and trying to make something funny out of it". Jerry mentioned that the show was about "how a comedian gets his material".