‘Seinfeld’ Cast Appearances in ‘Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,’ Ranked
Despite stand-up comics being arguably the last people that need any additional stimulants, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee routinely featured Jerry Seinfeld downing copious amounts of joe with his fellow humorists (and also, bizarrely, the President of the United States in that one episode).
In retrospect, some of the most memorable shows involved Seinfeld reuniting with his former Seinfeld cast members, who seemingly don’t resent him for his oversized sitcom paycheck anymore. Since it’s the closest thing we’re going to get to a Seinfeld reunion, other than the fake one in Curb Your Enthusiasm and that A.I.-driven transphobic nightmare playing out on Twitch, we’ve decided to rank the times Seinfeld’s old co-stars agreed to climb into a vintage deathtrap and pretend to be regular people who enjoy affordable dining experiences for 15 minutes...
While in no way approaching the abject awkwardness of the time Seinfeld mediated Richards’ bizarre apology on Late Night with David Letterman, the former Kramer actor’s appearance on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is definitely odd.
Much of the episode is taken up by Richards’ suggestion that they randomly stop the car and visit boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard’s house, which turns out to be owned and occupied by non-boxing legend Jay Mohr. When they finally sit down for coffee, Richards goes into a long story about the prodigious talents of an unhoused chess savant he once encountered and talks about his notorious racist rant at the Laugh Factory while somehow never using the words “racist rant.”
Jason Alexander
Although sadly unavailable on Netflix due to rights reasons, Alexander appeared in character as George Costanza for an abbreviated post-Super Bowl special, “The Over-Cheer.” Scripted by Seinfeld and Larry David and filmed inside the real-life Monk’s diner (Tom’s Restaurant), it’s basically a mini-episode of Seinfeld, complete with Wayne Knight reprising the role of Newman.
Since he voiced George Steinbrenner on multiple episodes and briefly played Frank Costanza’s caped attorney, we’re going to count Seinfeld co-creator David as a cast member. It’s a treat just to see these two pals together, enjoying each other’s company as they debate the minutiae of everything from tipping to boxer briefs. At one point, David commends Seinfeld: “You have finally done a show about nothing.”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
In what is one of the very best episodes of the series overall, Seinfeld and Louis-Dreyfus tour Hollywood in a 007-esque Aston Martin. There are just so many great moments — from randomly running into Hilary Swank to Louis-Dreyfus informing Seinfeld that Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tracy Letts played the sketchy bookie in the Festivus episode. And unlike some overly-adoring guests, Louis-Dreyfus doesn’t take any crap from her old friend, often one-upping him with quips such as the backhanded compliment: “Well, you’re nicer than Hitler.”
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