Jerry Seinfeld bringing reality series to NBC

NEW YORK (AP) — Jerry Seinfeld is returning to NBC as producer of a comic reality series where celebrities and a referee try to help squabbling couples make peace.

That's the good news for Seinfeld's fans.

The bad news? Seinfeld said he has no plans to step in front of the cameras for "The Marriage Ref" or, for that matter, to ever star in a television series again.

"It's a young man's game," said Seinfeld, 54. "Nothing could surpass the experience I had."

That would be "Seinfeld," of course, the sitcom that ended its nine-year run in 1998, a big part of NBC's golden era. The fourth-place network has since fallen on hard times, and jumped at the chance to welcome back one of its top names.

The idea came from personal experience.

Seinfeld and his wife, Jessica, were arguing one day — he doesn't remember the topic — while a friend was visiting. The friend became uncomfortable and wondered if she should leave.

"I said, 'You know what, I need some help to settle this right here. I need a marriage ref,'" he said, and the friend obliged.

Seinfeld helped develop the idea with a friend, Ellen Rakieten, who had just left Oprah Winfrey's production company after working there for 23 years.