The Cheever Letters

"**The Cheever Letters**"
"The Cheever Letters"
Seinfeld episode
Episode no.	Season 4; Episode 8
Directed by	Tom Cherones
Story by	Larry David ; Elaine Pope ; Tom Leopold ;
Teleplay by	Larry David
Production code	408
Original air date	October 28, 1992
Guest appearances
	Heidi Swedberg as Susan Ross; Warren Frost as Mr. Ross; Grace Zabriskie as Mrs. Ross; Lisa Malkiewicz as Sandra; Timothy Omundson as Ricky; Miguel Perez as Cuban diplomat; Vanessa Marquez as Receptionist;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Bubble Boy"	Next →; "The Opera"
	Seinfeld season 4
	List of episodes

Last updated August 23, 2025

"The Cheever Letters" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of the American television sitcom Seinfeld (and the 48th episode overall).^[1] It first aired on NBC in the United States on October 28, 1992.^[1] In this episode, George and Susan break the news about the cabin burning down to Susan's parents, but the tension over this revelation is soon eclipsed by the content of letters from John Cheever found in the ruins of the cabin. Meanwhile, Jerry dates Elaine's secretary and inadvertently offends her during their dirty talk. The episode was written by Larry David, Elaine Pope and Tom Leopold, and directed by Tom Cherones.

Plot

Jerry reminds George of the irony that, in return for Susan's father gifting him fine Cuban cigars, not only did George give away the cigars, but the cigars then burned down Susan's father's cabin.

Jerry and George hunker down to write the sitcom pilot they are selling to NBC. Having no ideas, they welcome every distraction while accomplishing nothing. Jerry calls Elaine at work, but must head off Elaine's receptionist Sandra making her usual idle chitchat. Elaine asks Sandra to stop, but this clues Sandra in that Jerry complained, and she immediately quits in anguish.

After buying his way into Westchester Country Club with a cigar, Kramer can no longer tolerate public golf courses. With the cigars lost in the fire, Kramer scrounges for more, despite the Cuban trade embargo.

Susan brings George to dinner to meet her parents. Susan's father reminisces over the cabin's long history as a treasured family legacy. When Susan and George finally break the news of the fire, he retires from the table in shock, while Susan's mother, drunk, laughs it off.

For Elaine's sake, Jerry calls Sandra to make amends, and gets roped into a date which leads to amorous foreplay. After hearing Sandra's especially lewd dirty talk—which he can only inaudibly confide to George later—Jerry returns her banter, but blurts out, nonsensically, "the panties your mother laid out for you", which scares Sandra off. Knowing that Elaine will not let him live this down if she hears, Jerry urges Elaine to fire Sandra as soon as she returns to work.

In search of cigars, Kramer urgently meets with the Cuban diplomatic mission at the United Nations. The head diplomat takes Kramer's hard-won jacket in trade. Kramer and the diplomats all go golfing at Westchester, cigars in hand.

Dropping in on the Rosses, Jerry and George meet Susan's brother Ricky and paraplegic aunt Sara, who George supposedly resembles. Susan opens a trove of letters recovered from the cabin fire, which turn out to be salacious love letters to her father from novelist John Cheever. The family is dumbfounded as Susan's father unabashedly defends his gay love affair with the late Cheever.

After many false starts and repeatedly dozing off, Jerry and George have only written a few filler lines. Meanwhile, Sandra, transferred by Elaine on Jerry's advice, takes revenge and rats out Elaine for calling Europe long-distance on the company's dime. However, Elaine shows no sign of hearing any gossip, so Jerry relievedly covers her phone bills. Elaine leaves him with a gotcha, namechecking her mother and some panties that she has "laid out".

References

1 2 "Seinfeld Season 4 Episodes". TV Guide . Retrieved December 2, 2021.

External links

"The Cheever Letters" at IMDb

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[tvguide-1] 1 2 "Seinfeld Season 4 Episodes". TV Guide . Retrieved December 2, 2021.

[1]

v t e Seinfeld episodes
Season 1	"The Seinfeld Chronicles" "The Stake Out" "The Robbery" "Male Unbonding" "The Stock Tip"
Season 2	"The Ex-Girlfriend" "The Pony Remark" "The Jacket" "The Phone Message" "The Apartment" "The Statue" "The Revenge" "The Heart Attack" "The Deal" "The Baby Shower" "The Chinese Restaurant" "The Busboy"
Season 3	"The Note" "The Truth" "The Pen" "The Dog" "The Library" "The Parking Garage" "The Cafe" "The Tape" "The Nose Job" "The Stranded" "The Alternate Side" "The Red Dot" "The Subway" "The Pez Dispenser" "The Suicide" "The Fix-Up" "The Boyfriend"† "The Limo" "The Good Samaritan" "The Letter" "The Parking Space" "The Keys"
Season 4	"The Trip"† "The Pitch" "The Ticket" "The Wallet" "The Watch" "The Bubble Boy" "The Cheever Letters" "The Opera" "The Virgin" "The Contest" "The Airport" "The Pick" "The Movie" "The Visa" "The Shoes" "The Outing" "The Old Man" "The Implant" "The Junior Mint" "The Smelly Car" "The Handicap Spot" "The Pilot"†
Season 5	"The Mango" "The Puffy Shirt" "The Glasses" "The Sniffing Accountant" "The Bris" "The Lip Reader" "The Non-Fat Yogurt" "The Barber" "The Masseuse" "The Cigar Store Indian" "The Conversion" "The Stall" "The Dinner Party" "The Marine Biologist" "The Pie" "The Stand In" "The Wife" "The Raincoats"† "The Fire" "The Hamptons" "The Opposite"
Season 6	"The Chaperone" "The Big Salad" "The Pledge Drive" "The Chinese Woman" "The Couch" "The Gymnast" "The Soup" "The Mom & Pop Store" "The Secretary" "The Race" "The Switch" "The Label Maker" "The Scofflaw" "The Highlights of 100"† "The Beard" "The Kiss Hello" "The Doorman" "The Jimmy" "The Doodle" "The Fusilli Jerry" "The Diplomat's Club" "The Face Painter" "The Understudy"
Season 7	"The Engagement" "The Postponement" "The Maestro" "The Wink" "The Hot Tub" "The Soup Nazi" "The Secret Code" "The Pool Guy" "The Sponge" "The Gum" "The Rye" "The Caddy" "The Seven" "The Cadillac"† "The Shower Head" "The Doll" "The Friar's Club" "The Wig Master" "The Calzone" "The Bottle Deposit"† "The Wait Out" "The Invitations"
Season 8	"The Foundation" "The Soul Mate" "The Bizarro Jerry" "The Little Kicks" "The Package" "The Fatigues" "The Checks" "The Chicken Roaster" "The Abstinence" "The Andrea Doria" "The Little Jerry" "The Money" "The Comeback" "The Van Buren Boys" "The Susie" "The Pothole" "The English Patient" "The Nap" "The Yada Yada" "The Millennium" "The Muffin Tops" "The Summer of George"
Season 9	"The Butter Shave" "The Voice" "The Serenity Now" "The Blood" "The Junk Mail" "The Merv Griffin Show" "The Slicer" "The Betrayal" "The Apology" "The Strike" "The Dealership" "The Reverse Peephole" "The Cartoon" "The Strongbox" "The Wizard" "The Burning" "The Bookstore" "The Frogger" "The Maid" "The Puerto Rican Day" "The Chronicle"† "The Finale"†
† Indicates two-part episode

The Cheever Letters

Contents

Plot

References

External links