See behind-the-scenes photos from Seinfeld's final season

In the show's final season, Seinfeld invited photo-journalist David Hume Kennerly on the studio lot to capture the comedy as it had never been seen before. Keep clicking for more behind-the-scenes pics.

Inside the show's Stage 9 home in Studio City, Calif., Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine), Michael Richards (Kramer), Jerry Seinfeld (Jerry), and Jason Alexander (George) were all smiles — while reporters seeking a scoop on the finale hovered in choppers overhead.

Larry David (right) returned to pen the two-parter, having last written season 7's finale. "My mother hated the demise of Susan Ross," said David of George's fiancée's death by toxic wedding invitation. "She could hardly bring herself to talk to me at the end of that show."

When asked why he decided to end the show after nine seasons, Seinfeld quipped, "Seinfeld's all about breakups. And ultimately the show had to break up with the country. In the end, it just couldn't commit."

The scripts for Seinfeld ran about 70 pages instead of the average 45 for a sitcom. Said actor John O'Hurley, who played Elaine's haughty boss J. Peterman, "Aside from Michael Richards' acrobatics, it's a show about language."

Seinfeld said his proudest achievement was prompting the invention of the new word: Seinfeldian. "Even The New York Times uses it!"

Richards, as Kramer, prepares to barge into Jerry's apartment. The door itself went home with Seinfeld as a souvenir, along with the intercom and the booth from Monk's coffee shop. "It was not easy keeping that stuff intact," Seinfeld said. "There were thieves coming every night."

In 1997, NBC tried to tempt Seinfeld to return for a 10th season (though the network's offer wasn't as high as the $5 million an episode that was reported, he says). But he knew the time was right to leave. "I had to take care of the show, and this was what was good for the show."

Jason Alexander's goodbye speech — when he said he had never really thanked Jerry — made the aloof stand-up cry. "I was standing near [Seinfeld], so I handed him a tissue," said Estelle Harris, who played George's high-strung mom, Estelle. "He didn't even know it was me who handed it to him. But I don't mind. So he owes me a tissue."

Seinfeld remembered his final farewell with characteristic glibness. "It was like getting married to myself," he said. "Everyone I knew was there, everyone was congratulating me. And yet I still got to go home alone."

For more Seinfeld scoop, pick up a copy of Entertainment Weekly's Ultimate Guide to Seinfeld on newsstands now, or buy it online!