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Larry Charles, one of the head writers behind Seinfeld, has some ideas about how Michael Richards’ beloved weirdo Cosmo Kramer would adapt to today’s political climate.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Daily Beast’s podcast Fever Dreams, Charles speculated about what the classic NBC sitcom would look like if it were still on the air – believing that Kramer would somehow be a far-right conspiracy theorist and a far-left anti-fascist protestor at the same time.
“When I thought about how Seinfeld would survive in this kind of environment and this television environment, and I look around, I think about bringing those characters to the 21st century, and… wouldn’t Kramer be… a believer in QAnon? But he might also be in Antifa at the same time to cover his bets,” he said.
Charles, who’s also directed episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm and several Sacha Baron Cohen movies – including the first Borat – also theorized about the current status of the characters played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jason Alexander.
“Elaine might’ve been married a couple of times, she’s probably developed a pill habit of some sort, she’s been in and out of rehab,” he said. “And George might have committed suicide by now, quite frankly.”
Charles went on to talk about what he sees as the decline of comedy during Donald Trump’s political rise and presidency.
“One of the problems with comedy is the more successful it is, the more cooperative with the corporate culture it has to be,” he said.
Specifically pointing to Saturday Night Live, Charles said it’s “almost perverse” how the show has benefitted from having a relationship with Trump, who served as hosted during his first presidential campaign before becoming fodder for the show.
“They are making their money by making fun of Trump,” he added. “So they need Trump to keep their own brands afloat. And that’s kind of a bad arrangement for satire.”
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