I have always been a huge Seinfeld fan. I even believed that I’d seen every episode- that is until this past weekend.

While channel surfing, I happened across an episode that I honestly cannot recall having seen before and it got me thinking of a strategy for networks with currently successful sitcoms and dramas (House, Sopranos, Desperate Housewives, etc..). If these networks simply filmed one or two additional episodes a year they could hold them, releasing previously unseen episodes in future years (possibly during ‘down’ years when current sitcoms are weak’ um, NBC).

Imagine the hype surrounding an announcement that ’a lost copy’ of Seinfeld had turned up’ the audience would be huge. Also, positioning new shows around episode releases of formerly huge successes might get some re-capture viewers who had lost interest in a network’s programming.

For example, the OC is about to sign off after four years. Maybe the show isn’t currently popular enough to merit continuation, but because the show was so popular for so long, I think it is a perfect candidate for my idea.

People naturally miss shows when they no longer have the option to watch them. Giving the OC a year off and then airing a few ’un-seen’ episodes would probably build a good amount of audience for one or two nights and would also likely boost sales among DVD products, especially if the networks aired them around the Holidays.

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