I’m going to give a non-answer here, but spend some words pointing out that there is an entire TV Trope explicitly named after the phenomenon contributing to much of the current-day Seinfeld hate, namely that it feels trite and predictable only when viewed through the lens of modernity. Seinfeld is unfunny as we decry that it’s all been done before, forgetting that it’s only been done before because Seinfeld did it first and lots of others imitated in the wake of its popularity. In its era it was actually truly groundbreaking, in a way that Friends definitely was not.

Seinfeld (along with Married… With Children) was the original raunchy sitcom that broke the genre free from bland family friendly predictability and opened up the possibility of one being entertainment aimed squarely and indeed only at adults. The core cast of Seinfeld are all terrible people, in retrospect probably because Jerry Seinfeld himself was writing from what he knew, where nobody learns the important lesson at the end of the episode on purpose. Sex, relationships, and even failed relationships were openly discussed. There is no central family unit, and every family we are shown in any detail (mainly Jerry’s and especially George’s) are highly dysfunctional. Before it, the concept of an episode having A and B plotlines that intersect and eventually entangle with each other hadn’t been done, even though this is such a staple that it’s outright expected of any show today. It had a deliberately misanthropic sense of humor that was the perfect fit for the cynical point in history in which it occupied.

In a way Friends is aspirational, an idealized imagining of a hypothetical urban lifestyle that the viewer may hope to achieve even if they don’t personally identify with it. Seinfeld, conversely, is an outright freakshow. You are on the outside looking in at these vain and deceitful people much like a jar full of scorpions someone’s just shaken so they’ll fight. And you’re glad to be on the outside of it, because you really don’t want to be them. But there is a certain bile attraction to it nevertheless, a sort of twisted catharsis in that despite how horrible and selfish as the core cast may be they are also somehow able to live without remorse, speak without filters, and act out without consequences in ways that we only wish we could get away with. (The fact that they spout so many zingers and precipitate so many quotable moments probably also helps.)

Friends is worse for people who prefer Seinfeld, while Seinfeld is worse for people who prefer Friends.

Mystery solved. No need to thank me, everyone, it’s all in a day’s work.

Friends is a lot better if you fast forward any time Ross and Rachel are on screen together. The rest of the show is pretty funny and each episode is like 10min long.

I thought both were okay. Not great but not awful. Both aged rather poorly though. But that’s not unusual for sitcoms. Most of them do.

I enjoyed Friends for a while, never enjoyed Seinfeld. But other people said the opposite. Most of us wouldn’t rewatch either one.

So, what are you asking? I’m unclear on that.

Friends is horrible, watch Happy Endings if you want the same premise with funny jokes.

Seinfeld was also not good but did introduce a lot of tv tropes, so Larry David and Curb are where the funny is made there without the laugh track.

I watched Seinfeld and Frasier when I was in university and I absolutely loved both of those shows, despite how the leading actors have turned out to be.

Sometimes it’s okay to live with a bit of cognitive dissonance.

Edit: Friends on the other hand was trite and full of stolen jokes, and mostly liberal nonsense.

I like both, but Seinfeld is a funnier show 100% because of Jason Alexander.

havent watched the shows but i heard their openings a lot. friends has that iconic opening song that reminds me of the good days.
seinfeld has that funk and feels like a proper laugh track kinda vibe.

ima say friends is worse cause of the fandom.

I am the age of the target audience for both of these programs when they came out. I found Seinfeld completely unwatchable contemporaneously. It has perhaps the worst laugh track in the history of TV programming. Same obviously fake laughing for stupid stuff that is not even worth a snicker as for the rare thing that was actually funny. I didn’t care for it at all and never understood why it was so popular.

Friends annoyed me for different reasons, mostly because the characters lived so far beyond their means that it was immersion breaking.

They both suck, but Seinfeld sucks more.

friends.

Seinfeld knew what they were, a show about nothing.

friends masqueraded as something it was not, a comedy.

Neither, laugh-track shows are irritating.
It’s like if I’m not laughing the blame is on me, instead of the joke not being funny.

both

Lemmy sure is a tough crowd.

Friends.

In Seinfeld the characters are supposed to be miserable and you aren’t supposed to identify with them. People don’t go around trying to put on a Seinfeld persona (at least in my neck of the woods. If your area is different please don’t make me more depressed than I am).

The number of people I’ve met purposely styling themselves after Joey or Phoebe is depressing and it’s more accepted because they’re “normal every day likable people”.

Gag me with a spoon