Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee

My wife and I cherrypicked about 10 episodes, I feel like we got a pretty good cross section. Quickly realized that the funniness of the show depends entirely on the guest and their ability to tolerate Jerry.

He often asks pointless and awkward questions which even the guests visibly cringe at. Jerry doesn't really seem interested in talking about substantive things with the comedians, he has rather low regard for people he considers less funny than himself, and treats his comedy career as if he's Jonas Salk.

I went into this show somewhat indifferent toward Jerry Seinfeld and came out quite put off by him. The show deserves some credit for the array of guests. The cars are cool too, despite how mind-numbingly self indulgent that aspect is. It really speaks to Jerry's personality that he combined his favourite things into a show, but the part that the audience might care about (asking the guests questions) often feels like an afterthought.

Seinfeld boldly defined a new genre with this series, defying convention and putting fans first. So much is different about this series: It's distributed only on Crackle and his own dedicated web site, the episodes are an usual 14-18 minutes long, the format itself is unique, and the sole sponsor Acura created customized advertising content that they integrated into the show.

Each show follows this same formula: Jerry Seinfeld invites a legendary comedian out for coffee. He picks them up at their house or mansion in a different and rare classic car. You could watch this series just for the classic cars. In fact if you check IMDb you will find that people who watch this show also watch Top Gear. You might find a bit of Top Gear here, especially when it comes to simultaneous admiring and poking fun at the cars.

The famous comedians you meet are the top comedians of our time and Jerry has known many of them personally for decades, so anyone who's particularly into comedy will especially appreciate this series. He ranges from Jay Leno to Sara Silverman and Louis CK, and Chris Rock, to name a few.

And although you'll see GoPro's all over the inside of each car, along with a chase car or two, you are still there eavesdropping on an intimate conversation between two friends. They're not trying to create an illusion with the production crew staying out of the way, nor are they in your face either. This isn't an interview, and it's not a reality show either. It's something else, something new. Something happens to friends when they go for a drive in a classic car and just hang out.

This format works extra-ordinarily well in the unusual 14-18 minute time length Jerry makes each episode. Each episode features a different classic car, with Jerry describing the characteristics of the car that make it special for him. One wonders whether the cars are somehow matched to the personalities of the comedians. Then Jerry calls them up, and Jerry says something like, "So I'll pick you up in 15 minutes for coffee." He drives to their house / mansion, picks them up, and off they go to a unique coffee shop. Sometimes they have other impromptu adventures along the way.

Jerry and Acura obviously collaborated closely on this, as the customized advertising content from Acura is integrated into each show. The commercials match the retro/classic era of the cars they drive, and are downright funny themselves. Each episode features comical Acura product placements, so that after watching a few episodes you begin to play a game of "Where is the Acura product placement going to be in this one?" This is advertising genius.

I loved this show. I despise the unreality of "reality TV" but this belongs, I suppose, at the edges of that genre. It also belongs at the edges of the late night talk show genre, but with a host who engages rather than quizzes and allows guests to shill their current project...and the content here is often deeper and more interesting than the typical talk show's. The "story" is simply: Jerry picks up a comedian (or two) he is friends with, driving an amazing classic car, and they go for coffee, sometimes a meal, and they talk.

Though of course there must be a crew of sound and camera people, you don't feel as if there are; you feel as if you're a fly on the door handle of the car or on the diner table (some of the diners where they got coffee no doubt had those), eavesdropping on comic geniuses reminiscing and riffing what seems to be spontaneously on various ideas. For instance, Joel Hodgson and Jerry fall into a routine about advertising the upside-down ketchup bottle, Jerry playing the junior executive with some bad news to impart, and Joel being the impatient CEO with opera tickets who wants to get going, and they are very funny. They make each other laugh, too, and there is no sit-com reason to avoid breaking character and not laugh. So the viewer's sense is that we're sitting at a table with two or three funny friends and watching them go at it, and it's really enjoyable.

The final episode isn't entirely funny--it's damned moving. It's not only deeply philosophical at points, but shows some of the dark sides of comedy, and it moved me to tears.

It strikes me that the episodes were a perfect length for what they were--you wanted more. And there's something else you can't do on TV, eh? 22 minutes or 44, and nothing else, but a web show can be any length, providing different opportunities for creativity. I'm usually depressed by watching network TV shows, but this show made me feel optimistic about the future of entertainment and anxious to see what else is coming.

Terrific job, an idea that may sound odd at first blush but that worked perfectly.

It's a novel concept and rolls stand-up comedy, reality TV and our fascination with celebrities into one little bite-sized but right-sized segment.

The show is not constant laugh-out-loud humour and initially may appear not to live up to the high expectations which inevitably attach to a Jerry Seinfeld venture. You might even feel torn between the desire to watch, and the unwillingness to admit that you're interested in watching a celebrity get a cup of coffee.

But drop your guard, watch a few episodes, and you will realise that the creators do not intend to suggest that you have nothing better to do than watch their mediocre moments. Rather, this show is the loving little side-project of someone who just wants to share their passion for cars, comedy and the subtleties of human relations.

First of all this show is all about two comedians(rarely accompanied by a third guest) telling each others anecdotes mostly regarding comedy biz and having conversations that remind us the ones Jerry and George were having in the Seinfeld. The concept of driving to get a coffee and the coffee place are simply the stage of the show where the comedians have their conversations. The cars and the coffee places are not really the subjects of the show. So do not expect great deal of information about the cars. Jerry tells about the cars so little as to make a mere introduction of the machines they are going to enjoy as part of the day. As a Turkish person who lives in Turkey where the comedy is made by few people and mostly with poor taste, i really admire American comedy which is very rich with its many comedians and concepts and i still discover this great comedy culture. This shows brings a lot of young comedians and legends to screen(of the internet) and they tell amazing stories in the tone of a friendly, casual get- together. A great example of one of these moments in the show, was when Jimmy Fallon told an anecdote about Jack Nicholson and Cracker Jacks. The concept of the show is very smart for revealing these moments. In this sense, it is similar to a late night talk show only it is more relaxed and the guests are exclusively comedians. Very entertaining and original. i hope to see many seasons of this show, with comedians like Larry David, Louis CK, Ricky Gervais and Jimmy Fallon reappearing along with legends.