Jerry Seinfeld jumped on the streaming train early with his interview series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, which premiered on Crackle in 2012 and has since been sold to Netflix. Over the course of 11 seasons and 84 episodes, Seinfeld has featured some truly hilarious guests on his show.
In each episode, Seinfeld drives a vintage car handpicked for his guest, then picks them up and takes them to get coffee and maybe a bite to eat. Along the way, they talk about everything from their creative process to bits they’re working on to random Seinfeldian conversation topics that arise naturally, providing plenty of opportunities for hilarity.
Larry David
The very first episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee remains one of its best, as Seinfeld reunited with Larry David, the co-creator of his eponymous sitcom. This duo spent seven years collaborating on some of the funniest television ever to hit the airwaves, and seeing how they interact on Comedians in Cars, it’s hardly surprising.
Riffing on everything from door-holding etiquette to free-range chickens, Seinfeld and David’s repartee is a delight to watch. At one point, Seinfeld makes David laugh so hard that he does a real-life spit-take.
Sarah Silverman
It’s always fun to see Jerry Seinfeld interacting with a comedian whose comic sensibility is far darker than his own, and there are few comedians who are willing to go to darker places than Sarah Silverman.
Like many guests, Silverman riffs on some bits she’s been working on, like one joke about how the controversy surrounding Scientology.
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais has been on Comedians in Cars a couple of times. Each time he’s appeared on the show, he’s provided a handful of laugh-out-loud moments. Seinfeld and Gervais are clearly pretty close in real life, as they have an established rapport. They both previously starred on the HBO special Talking Funny in which they discussed comedy in a similar way.
In Gervais’ most recent appearance, he and Seinfeld spend the whole episode talking about whether a certain offensive joke will make the cut.
Chris Rock
In Chris Rock’s Comedians in Cars appearance, he tests out some of the material that would end up in his acclaimed Netflix special, Tamborine. He and Seinfeld discuss universal subjects like relationships and parenting throughout the episode.
In one particularly poignant moment, Seinfeld and Rock get pulled over by the police and Rock admits that if Seinfeld wasn’t there, he’d be scared.
Steve Martin
In his heyday, Steve Martin was the most popular comedian in the world with an utterly unique act. He stepped down from performing standup without warning and hasn’t returned to the stage since.
Seinfeld was particularly interested in why Martin turned his back on standup, and in Comedians in Cars, the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels star opens up more than perhaps ever before (except in his memoirs) about his reasons for quitting.
Dave Chappelle
When Dave Chappelle performs standup, he’s a god in human clothing. He transcends the mere form of comedian and speaks like a true philosopher. So it was hardly surprising to see in Comedians in Cars that off-stage, he’s really down-to-earth.
After getting coffee in Chappelle’s hometown of Washington, D.C., Chappelle takes Seinfeld to his old high school and shows him all the recent renovations.
Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell gets hysterically candid in his Comedians in Cars interview, opening up about the frustrations of watching a focus group review his movies and his insecurities about his weight.
At the end of the episode, Ferrell turns the chat into a fake job interview, taking on the role of interviewee and allowing Seinfeld to step into the role of interviewer.
Eddie Murphy
Most episodes of Comedians in Cars are under 15 minutes because Jerry Seinfeld was told in the show’s early days that brevity is the key to success in web-based TV. But since Netflix acquired the series, the episodes have been getting longer.
Eddie Murphy’s episode is a whopping 42 minutes long. He and Seinfeld have a lot to talk about, because they started out around the same time in New York and greatly admired each other.
Jamie Foxx
There are few people as multitalented as Jamie Foxx. He’s a great actor, a great musician, a great producer, and a great comedian. Among the tools in Foxx’s comedic toolbox are storytelling and spot-on impressions, and he utilized both in Comedians in Cars.
From his story about bringing his social media-obsessed kids to the set of Django Unchained to his uncanny impersonation of Robert Downey Jr., Foxx’s appearance on Seinfeld’s show certainly didn’t disappoint.
Bob Einstein
The late, great Bob Einstein was nothing like his Curb Your Enthusiasm character, Marty Funkhouser. Whereas Funkhouser was the straight man opposite Larry David’s antics, Einstein himself was as zany and outspoken as Larry, at least in his appearances on Comedians in Cars.
Einstein had a terrific dynamic with Seinfeld as they barbed each other about the differences in their careers and reminisced about co-starring in the Curb season about the Seinfeld reunion.