Seinfeld pretty much broke all the rules and made it work. The characters are complete bastards. Cold, calloused, self-absorbed... but loveable. I can't write down a formula for why Seinfeld worked. I see your point though.

Maybe it has something to do with the nature of its humor. It was small in a sense. Absurd, but relatable. Very observational. "The Show About Nothing" All the little things in life we all experience, blown up into a grand and hilarious scope. You could relate. There is nobody on earth quite like George Costanza (except Larry David perhaps), but everybody's had a 'George moment'. In a weird way I still kinda cared what happened to the characters.

AD is more like a soap opera. There's all kinds of shit happening, and you really can't relate to any of it. It's still hilarious though.

I dunno... why do you have me comparing AD to Seinfeld in the first place?! I never once mentioned Seinfeld!