Seinfeld’s Aspect Ratio on Netflix Crops Out Key Jokes

After months of anticipation, Seinfeld has finally arrived on Netflix. As some fans of the classic sitcom have already noticed, the streamer has updated the show for a new generation, a move already coming with its own set of issues. Instead of the show’s now-“vintage” 4:3 aspect ratio, Netflix enlarged the series to fit the modern widescreen ratio of 16:9. Because of that, some of the show has been cut out of the replay.

While this typically wouldn’t be such a major issue, some fans have noticed the new ratio has dire consequences for one episode late in the show’s run. In an example that’s now going viral across social media, the aspect ratio has removed a pothole that Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) and George (Jason Alexander) discuss at length in the Season 8 episode “The Pothole.”

The only problem is, the pothole is nowhere to be found, and George is seen complaining about phantom road break off-screen.

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A similar situation happened with The Simpsons was added to Disney+ upon launch. Instead of presenting all shows in their regular format, the Disney-owned platform made sure everything played in the modern ratio. Disney+ ended up correcting the problem months after the issue was first discovered.

“We presented The Simpsons in 16:9 aspect ratio at launch in order to guarantee visual quality and consistency across all 30 seasons. Over time, Disney+ will roll out new features and additional viewing options,” a Disney+ spokesperson said at the time. “As part of this, in early 2020, Disney+ will make the first 19 seasons (and some episodes from Season 20) of The Simpsons available in their original 4:3 aspect ratio, giving subscribers a choice of how they prefer to view the popular series.”

Netflix has yet to address the ratio issue with what’s sure to be one of its biggest licensed properties.

All nine seasons of Seinfeld are now streaming on Netflix. What other classics are you hoping to see return to streaming? Let us know what you want to see either in the comments section below or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter!