<P> Seinfeld is an American sitcom that ran for nine seasons on NBC , from 1989 to 1998 . It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld , the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself . Set predominantly in an apartment building in Manhattan 's Upper West Side in New York City , the show features a handful of Jerry 's friends and acquaintances , particularly best friend George Costanza ( Jason Alexander ) , former girlfriend Elaine Benes ( Julia Louis - Dreyfus ) , and neighbor across the hall Cosmo Kramer ( Michael Richards ) . It is often described as being `` a show about nothing '' , as many of its episodes are about the minutiae of daily life . </P>
who played the lead role in seinfeld on nbc until it ended in 1998
Jerry Seinfeld