A Good Laugh

You seem like the person that enjoys watching comedy. Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is something I think you would get a kick out of. I like the show because of its laid-back feel and that the episodes aren’t connected in the sense that it’s one ongoing story. Each episode has its own plot in itself featuring a new comedian each time. While I have my shows that are an ongoing plot, it’s nice to have a show that you can watch and not have to get deeper into the story that is unfolding each time you tune in. If you need a good, light-hearted laugh, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is a good show to watch. 

Jerry Seinfeld picks a car for each episode and calls up a fellow comedian to go get coffee. As the car is always a conversation in itself, a few I have seen Jerry drive in the episodes I’ve watched are a ‘76 Ford Station Wagon, at his guest, Sarah Jessica Parker’s request, which Jerry was not happy about driving, ‘76 Lamborghini Countach, ‘56 Corvette Convertible, and also a ‘70 Mercedes 280 SL. Jerry and his guest talk about their careers, where they group up, and other things that come up in conversation. They usually dress casual, too, which helps add to the overall feeling of a laid-back show. Jerry usually wears jeans and his black and blue Nike Shocks, which I find funny. He could wear any shoes he wanted and he always chooses his Nike Shocks, he must really like those shoes.

The show feels very laid back to me because of its camera angles and how it's not a scripted show. I’m sure they talk before filming and actually going to get coffee, but I feel like with the comedians, they go off script and just kind of do what they want. An example is when Jerry and Sarah Jessica Parker didn’t anticipate the drive to the coffee shop to take so long and Jerry wanted coffee and was hungry. They came upon a Starbucks and they jumped out to go get some coffee for Jerry. Things like that make it feel less scripted. It’s camera angles are coming from the car in front of them that has a camera hanging out of the back, a small camera propped up in the windshield while they’re driving, and other cameras that are in the cars following and in the restaurants they go to. They aren’t always the most steady camera shots like you would see in a scripted, Hollywood movie, but I think it helps set the tone and mood of the show. It makes it feel more real as if you were there in the car cruising along a bumpy road with Jerry. 

I think you would enjoy this show because of the feeling that you are there in the coffee shop with Jerry and his guest. Also because it seems like a naturally flowing script and the laughs that the two comedians share are natural, nothing seems to be forced. In one episode with Stephen Colbert, Jerry and him see how long they can go without having conversation, which isn’t long, because each time Jerry or Stephen seem to start to say something, interrupting their “lull” as they call it in the episode. We should get together to watch this show sometime. I think we would both enjoy it.

A Date With Jerry and Will

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is a Netflix Original where Jerry Seinfeld picks various comedians up and talks about anything and everything while driving around in a super stylish vehicle. In this particular episode, “Will Ferrell: Mr. Ferrell, For the Last Time, We’re Going To Ask You To Put The Cigar Out”, Jerry Seinfeld takes Will Ferrell adventuring in California in a blue 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Superbird. All I can say about the car is it was five feet off the ground and was blue.

After Jerry talked on the phone with Will for a while he went and picked him up in none other than a park. They sat and swinged for a few minutes before they hit the road in the Road Runner Superbird. In the car, Jerry and Will have numerous laid back conversations. Will explains that although he stars in numerous movies, he does not frequently watch other popular movies. Jerry thought this was odd and rambled off numerous movie titles to which Will responded ‘no’ every time. This fun banter went on for a while before the ended up at a cafe for coffee.

While dining at the cafe, Will and Jerry talk about anything and everything from losing weight to Will’s first audition tape. Will talks about how he goes to the gym and ends up gaining weight and Jerry gets a kick out of it. He then shifts the conversation to his first audition tape which was only him imitating a cat playing with toys in a dead silent room. Jerry goes on to talk about how he’s always wanted to give someone a gift of a cat in a box; a perfect present if you ask me. While at the table Will talks about his feline behavior knowledge and gives examples for Jerry. Their conversations are very fun and light-hearted and go on for a while. After coffee, they order Baklava and talk about Greece for a while. They made various jokes about Greece’s economy and made connections to the cafe they were in.

As the episode draws to a close they head back to the car to finalize their adventure. They have a short conversation about Will’s new movie and how Will won’t attend focus groups for any of his movies. Acting like someone in a focus group, Jerry gives the interview with Will a 0/10, while Will rounds it up to a 1/10.

Although Jerry only have Will a 0/10, I would give it a solid 10/10. I was entertained throughout the whole episode and I was laughing at almost everything that was being said. In the end, I will probably end up watching more episodes of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, hoping they will be 10/10 as well.

When Comedians Become Friends

Jerry Seinfeld’s new show, Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee, is a show that, for someone who loves hanging out with friends, charmingly captures the friendships between Jerry Seinfeld and the comedians that he invites on the show to catch up over coffee and a car ride. While the guests on the show are undoubtedly some of the funniest people in the entertainment business today, the true genius of the show lies in the way that it is staged, or not staged at all. That is to say that the show’s laid back, unscripted, and tightly filmed nature gives the audience an up close and personal view of these interactions, allowing the viewer to tag along as if they are also a guest on the show, and to laugh with the comedians rather than at them.


The laid back nature of Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee is a refreshing and simultaneously surprising change of pace from the nature of most comedy series. While others may feel forced or stiff because of their perfect production, Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee feels fun and loose because of its imperfect filming: conversation flows wherever it wants to, without regard to a punchline or a laugh-track; random fan interactions with the comedians show a more real side of some of our favorite comedians; unexpected twists throughout the episode draw laughs from the comedians and viewers alike. It is this rare, raw, roots-of-comedy element of the show that keeps everyone interested in what is going on.


While the laid back nature of the show can keep viewers wondering what will happen next, the unscripted nature of Seinfeld’s interactions with others gives a depth to the characters behind the characters and allows the audience to feel comfortable and as if they are a part of the conversation. Whereas most contemporary comedy is largely written out before its performance, whether live or not, the interactions between comedians are a true give and take, and there is real time for learning about others, and enjoying it.


Finally, the tightly shot filmography of Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee places the viewer within arm’s reach of some of the biggest stars in television: sharing a car ride with Alec Baldwin and Jerry Seinfeld to downtown NYC and then listening as Baldwin recounts his interactions with other famous people; going for a boat ride with Stephen Colbert and Seinfeld and then sitting down in a nice cafe and hearing him talk about his career; taking a stroll down the street with Seth Meyer and Seinfeld in a small town and gaining an understanding of his comedic background and his personal life--it is these things that make the show so captivating and easy to follow along with, and it is one of the biggest contributors to the show’s familiar and inviting feel, which leaves audiences wanting more and aching from sustained laughter.





In conclusion, Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee, while superficially being a show about friendship and fun times between comedians, is a show that--through its use of laid back, unscripted, and tightly filmed shooting--allows the audience members to grow closer to their favorite comedians and laugh with them instead of at them.

The Natural Comedian

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee struck me as only a slightly amusing sequence of conversations between Jerry Seinfeld and Seth Meyers. These two comedians are generally pretty funny on their original shows, but watching them interact in a natural setting was incredibly lackluster. The show was seemingly set up with a series of distractions (like sporty cars and artsy lattes) to reel in viewers, but after a short viewing the whole series falls flat. Moreover, the episodes are shorter than your usual television show by at least ten minutes, so I’m a little surprised that the episodes aren’t full of quality content. Maybe that is a tip off that an entire television episode shouldn’t center around an activity that most shows film in a single scene?

In the show’s defense, director and comedian Jerry Seinfeld may have been going for a more “natural” feeling setting between himself and Seth Meyers. In that case, I can understand why he chose to go for a less scripted situation. Jerry Seinfeld does a great job of putting together a natural scene for the two of them to talk in; what better way to show a person’s casual side than to take them out for coffee? Unfortunately, both Jerry Seinfeld and Seth Meyers are most famous for their scripted acts. Their talks were funny at times, but without a premade set of jokes, they just strike me as two charismatic people enjoying themselves -  nothing to make a show over.

Even days after watching Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, I am still confused with the purpose of the cool cars in every episode. Why does the car that Jerry Seinfeld drives matter? Is the car supposed to be some sort of incentive for the guest comedian to get coffee with Jerry? I suppose I could blow it off as some sort of interesting distraction for the sake of making decent TV, but the episode begins with background information about the car. Jerry also makes a point of mentioning it to Seth Meyers on their way to the coffee shop. Of course, one could also make the point that the car must be important to the episode because it is mentioned in the title. But the original question remains unanswered: why tie the concept of a nice car in with a show mainly focused on the conversation between two funny people?

I must say, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee has been a real disappointment in more ways than one. The intriguing title and big names definitely caught my attention, and the 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS held my attention for about 5 minutes. After that, the show gave me the depressing realization that Seth Meyers and Jerry Seinfeld aren’t always funny. It may have been naive to think that before watching the show, but it certainly doesn’t help to have video proof of the two of them not living up to the standards that they’ve set on Saturday Night Live and Seinfeld. From now on, I think I’ll just stick to watching “Weekend Update”.