The riff was composed by Jonathan Wolff for Seinfeld, the NBC sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that premiered in 1989 and ran for nine seasons. Wolff created the signature sound with a synthesizer and sampled slap bass, tailoring the groove around Jerry Seinfeld's stand up delivery in early episodes. Because the show became one of the most rerun comedies in television history, the few second sting stayed instantly recognisable. Online, editors reuse it as shorthand for a sitcom transition, a dated joke or an everyday situation treated like a scene from the show.