Something that happened when some sitcoms started following a single-camera format was seeing an entire house, apartment, or room. But multi-camera shows, shot on sets in front of studio audiences, always left out one very crucial element… the fourth wall. Vox uncovered some set photos from Seinfeld, which premiered 25 years ago Sunday (May 31, 1990), that revealed the fourth wall of Jerry’s apartment.
Why would they even bother to build such a wall if we, the audience, were never going to see it? It was mostly a safeguard in case the camera angle drifted beyond the set; we know it’s a fake apartment, but it still has to present itself as a “real” apartment. And that means we can’t see the studio on the other side of the kitchen.
Vox takes a closer look at the details on the unseen walls, like Jerry’s booze rack, his posters and photos, his extensive breakfast cereal stash, and the little things that made Jerry a real, live albeit fictional person.
Source: Vox
