Jerry Seinfeld Mourns Rob Reiner, Says ‘Seinfeld’ Would ‘Have Never Happened’ Without His Support: ‘He Saved Us From Cancellation’

Jerry Seinfeld has paid tribute to Rob Reiner following the beloved filmmaker’s shocking murder alongside his wife Michele Reiner on Sunday.

For the comic, while Reiner is mostly being celebrated for movies such as “This is Spinal Tap,” “The Princess Bride” and “When Harry Met Sally,” he also offered crucial support for what would become the hit, genre-defining NBC show “Seinfeld” in its troubled early days.

“Next to Larry David and George Shapiro, Rob Reiner had the biggest influence on my career,” Seinfeld wrote in an Instagram post. David, of course, was his “Seinfeld” co-creator and executive producer, while longtime manager Shapiro also executive produced the sitcom.

“Our show would have never happened without him. He saw something no one else could. When nobody at the network liked the early episodes, he saved us from cancellation,” added Seinfeld. “That I was working with Carl Reiner’s son, who happened to be one of the kindest people in show business, seemed unreal. I was naive at the time to how much his passion for us meant.”

Reiner’s Castle Rock Entertainment produced “Seinfeld,” but the 23-minute pilot — then titled “The Seinfeld Chronicles” — famously fell flat with both NBC executives and test audiences. When it eventually aired on July 5, 1989, it ratings were better than anticipated, prompting NBC to budget for four more episodes — described as the smallest sitcom order in TV history at the time. Castle Rock looked for other network, but when no buyer emerged, accepted the order. TV history would — eventually — be made.

Seinfeld also discussed Reiner’s wife Michele in his Instagram post.

“Rob and Michele married right as our show was starting and they became an imprint for me of how it’s supposed to work, each one broadening the other,” he wrote. “Their death, together, is impossibly sad.”