Seinfeld season 3 has a continuity error on Netflix, and here’s why that is. In the season 3 episode “The Stranded,” Jerry, George, and Elaine attend a party on Long Island, where George becomes closer to Ava, a woman who works in his office. Eventually, George takes the trio’s car to leave with Ava for the evening, stranding Jerry and Elaine at the house. They’re stuck there until well into the night, waiting for Kramer (who got lost) to pick them up.

A curious plot point in “The Stranded” is George starting a romantic relationship with a woman he works with. The episode is clearly set at a time where he is still at the real estate job he had at the beginning of the series. However, by the time Seinfeld season 3 premiered, George was unemployed, having quit his job in the season 2 episode “The Revenge.” Larry David was known for being a stickler for continuity, so at first glance, this seems like a glaring oversight. However, there’s a good reason for the alleged mistake.

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“The Stranded” was an episode that was actually produced for Seinfeld season 2. It didn’t air during that year because David didn’t like how it turned out, so it was put on the shelf. The decision was made to run it as part of Seinfeld season 3. To explain the continuity error to the audience, Jerry Seinfeld recorded a short intro to the episode, which was attached to its original airing on NBC.

What’s interesting is “The Stranded” was included on the Seinfeld season 1 & 2 DVD set, in its correct canonical place as season 2’s ninth episode. It’s unknown why this wasn’t maintained for the Netflix release, where “The Stranded” is categorized as season 3, episode 10. The episode’s placement in Seinfeld on Netflix could be a bit jarring to viewers, especially since the preceding episode (“The Nose Job”) references George’s unemployment status. In “The Nose Job,” George is amazed to be dating a woman despite not working, and he fails a job interview due to spinach being stuck in his teeth. In “The Stranded,” he’s still in real estate and venting about the complications of an office romance.

Netflix probably should have included Seinfeld’s pre-recorded explainer with “The Stranded” to make things less confusing for viewers who don’t know the episode history. For casual audiences just binging Seinfeld on the streamer, this continuity error could catch them off-guard a bit. Granted, classic network sitcoms aren’t as renowned for serialized storytelling like some TV dramas, but Seinfeld was an exception that paid attention to every little detail. Perhaps down the line, Netflix will move “The Stranded” to its proper place in season 2, though for now, viewers will have to make do with the slip up.

Seinfeld is now streaming on Netflix.

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Chris Agar
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Chris Agar is a news editor for Screen Rant, also writing features and movie reviews for the site as one of Screen Rant’s Rotten Tomatoes approved critics. He is a graduate of Wesley College’s Bachelor of Media Arts and Master of Sport Leadership programs. In 2013, Chris was hired to write weekly box office prediction posts in conjunction with the Screen Rant Underground podcast’s Box Office Battle game and his role expanded over the next few years. In addition to covering the latest news and hottest movie topics daily, Chris has attended numerous media events for Screen Rant, including San Diego Comic-Con, delivering content his readers care about. He credits Star Wars and Toy Story with launching a lifelong fascination with movies that led to his career, and now he has a wide range of cinematic tastes, enjoying the latest Hollywood blockbusters, Oscar contenders, and everything in between. Chris’ favorite film genres include sci-fi/fantasy, crime, action, and drama.

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