Though the sitcom was known for its darker comedy, killing off Heidi Swedberg’s Susan on Seinfeld is still a shocking move for the show. Susan originally debuted on the sitcom in Seinfeld season 4, as an NBC executive hearing Jerry and George’s pitch for the Jerry show-within-a-show. She eventually became a love interest for George, and the two had a short relationship over the course of season 4. The pair broke up (an experience that seemingly drove Susan to lesbianism) but surprisingly got back together in Seinfeld season 7. At the beginning of that season, Jerry and George made a pact to get married, and George decided to propose to Susan.
During season 7, he made it his mission to find a way to get out of his sudden engagement, but couldn’t find a way out. Then came the Seinfeld season 7 finale, “The Invitations,” in which Susan became poisoned by toxic envelopes for the wedding invitations and died. Susan’s shocking death on Seinfeld may have been motivated by behind-the-scenes issues. Susan wasn’t the only minor antagonist on Seinfeld, but the fact that she dies was unusual even for the quirky sitcom. The great part about the show is that loyalties switched relatively often, based on the group’s selfish decisions. And anyone who started as a friend in one episode could quickly become an annoyance by the next.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus May Accidentally Have Killed Susan Behind The Scenes
What episode Susan dies is a question that many have. Actress Heidi Swedberg played Susan on Seinfeld, and based on comments by the sitcom’s main cast, she wasn’t the easiest performer to work with. In an interview (via THR), George actor Jason Alexander admitted, “I couldn’t figure out how to play off her.” Alexander’s co-stars had similar issues. As he recalls, Julia Louis-Dreyfus said, “Don’t you just want to kill her?” (meaning the Susan character, not Swedberg), which planted the idea in Larry David’s mind.
At the time of this conversation, it was unknown if George would go through with the wedding or not. The Seinfeld season 7 DVD set includes an inside look at “The Invitations,” where David and the cast discuss the Seinfeld Susan dies moment. Jerry Seinfeld chalked it up to the crew feeling like they should kill “at least one person” during the sitcom’s run, and Susan seemed like the best candidate.
Behind-the-scenes interviews make no mention of the main cast having difficulty working with Swedberg, so perhaps it was a combination of the two. It is worth mentioning the Seinfeld cast didn’t dislike Swedberg as a person (Alexander has made sure to clear this up in the past). Their comments stem from the onscreen chemistry being off, and nothing more. For her part, Swedberg took the plot twist in stride, feeling Susan’s death was funny.
Why Seinfeld Had To Get Rid Of Susan
The Seinfeld Susan dies issue was definitely an extreme move made by the creative team, but considering Seinfeld ran for two more seasons after “The Invitations,” ending George’s engagement was arguably the right call. If the four main stars had trouble playing off Swedberg, it could have negatively impacted the quality of the ensuing episodes. The chemistry between the Seinfeld cast was one of the show’s strongest assets, so it was imperative to keep that intact. Susan’s death was a truly shocking moment (punctuated by the main group’s morbidly unemotional response). However, it allowed the writers to close the book on this particular Seinfeld thread, eliminating the temptation of bringing Susan back down the line.
None Of The Characters Got A Happy Ending – And It Worked
While the Seinfeld finale is a controversial topic, like Susan, none of the characters got a happy ending — and that worked for the series. The build-up to the final episode showed that each member of the main cast was a terrible person, as proven by their reaction to Susan’s death and many other instances. The finale finally showed some consequences for their actions throughout the show.
After witnessing a man being carjacked at gunpoint, and doing nothing to help, the gang got thrown in jail for breaking the “Good Samaritan Law.” Witnesses like the Soup Nazi, Dr. Wexler, and Leslie the low-talker testified against them. Therefore, they remained in the brig. The ending stays true to Seinfeld, just like the odd turn of events that ended with Susan’s death. Though Heidi Swedberg may have been difficult to work with, Susan being killed off in season 7 worked just as well as the finale.
Killing Susan Was Very Seinfeld
While the Seinfeld Susan dies arc seemed like an odd choice for the sitcom, it actually makes perfect sense in the Seinfeld universe. One of the show’s biggest selling points is that it’s a sitcom like no other. Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld created a series that was meant to be quirky and off-kilter, making it different from any other show on television at the time. Most sitcoms wouldn’t dream of killing off a character without good reason, usually the actor themselves’ death.
Modern sitcoms like Community will make shocking moves like killing off a character for an in-universe joke, but this was rarely done in sitcoms like Seinfeld — until Seinfeld did it. During its run, killing off a prevalent character like Susan was unheard of while Seinfeld was going up against NYC-based sitcom competitors like Friends and Mad About You. However, this is effectively how Seinfeld carved out a unique niche for itself, and the decision was very on-brand for the series.
What Heidi Swedberg Has Done Since Seinfeld
Like many of the supporting cast members on Seinfeld, the role of Susan on the show was Heidi Swedberg’s biggest job up until that point. She had previously worked in movies and television before her big break, appearing in Hot Shots! and Kindergarten Cop. Though her role as Susan on Seinfeld was acclaimed, Swedberg never found a role as big as that though she appeared in shows like Bones and Without a Trace. However, her last acting role was in 2010 suggesting that she may have retired.
Though there are some Seinfeld guest stars like Courteney Cox and Jon Favreau who found fame after their appearance on the show, many of the main and supporting cast never reached the heights they did with their time on Seinfeld. Though Julia Louise-Dreyfus has gone on to win multiple Emmys and even join the MCU and Jerry Seinfeld has continued his successful career as a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld has proven to be a tough project to top for many actors.
