15 Trivia Tidbits About ‘Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee’
Whether you love listening to amusing banter between funny people or just like watching millionaires be low-key rude to servers, chances are you enjoy Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Jerry Seinfeld doubled down on his “show about nothing” idea, reinventing the talk show format by putting it on wheels and injecting it with near-overdose levels of caffeine. While there sadly aren’t any new episodes coming any time soon, there are loads of behind-the-scenes facts for us to obsess over instead, like…
It Was Partly Inspired By A DVD Extra
For the DVD release of his documentary Comedian, Seinfeld recorded a commentary with Colin Quinn and was “amazed at how funny it was,” even though it was just the two of them “sitting there talking.” He also videotaped himself on a road trip in a VW bug with his friend. This, coupled with what we can only assume is a raging coffee addiction, led to the show’s creation.
There Was AThe special Super Bowl episode “The Over-Cheer” features, not a comedian, but Jason Alexander in character as George Costanza. Together they visit Tom’s Restaurant, which served as the exterior for Monk’s diner on Seinfeld, where they encounter Newman, played by Wayne Knight. Since Sony owns the rights to the Seinfeld gang, the episode sadly isn’t available on Netflix.
Seinfeld Was Accused of Stealing the Idea
The director of the pilot episode, Christian Charles, sued Seinfeld in 2019, claiming that the idea originated with a pitch he made to Seinfeld in 2002 called Two Stupid Guys. Seinfeld ultimately won the case.
Starbucks Declined to Participate
Seinfeld first pitched the show to Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz, who, for some reason, rejected the idea, telling Seinfeld: “I don’t see how this is right for us.” Seinfeld responded: “Well, maybe another major comedian will have a show with the word coffee in the title very soon that you will like.”
Bobcat Goldthwait’ s Name Was Bleeped Out of an Episode
As we've mentioned before, Seinfeld and Goldthwait don’t exactly care for each other. When the topic of Goldthwait came up in the Bridget Everett episode, Seinfeld went on an expletive-filled tirade about how unfunny his comedy archenemy is – but they bleeped his name out of the final cut.
Seinfeld Pays Guests Like A Shady Club Owner
Rather than just cutting them a check or gifting them with a garbage bag filled with Netflix gift cards, Seinfeld pays his guests “$4,000 in twenties in a white envelope.” Why? It’s a winking reference to how he and his friends used to get paid in nightclubs when they were younger. Presumably, guests are also encouraged to spend it all on cocaine and acid-washed jeans.
There Were No Network Notes
According to executive producer Tammy Johnston, it’s the only project that she’s worked on where there have been “zero network notes.” They simply shot the episodes, delivered them, and they were uploaded to the internet. This is also presumably why it wasn’t called Kinda Funny Attractive Twenty-Somethings in Cars Getting Monster Energy Drinks.
The Obama Episode Was Almost Called ‘Don’t Shoot Him’
For the episode filmed at the White House, Seinfeld had to film a scene “picking up” President Obama — a secret service agent suggested that he knock on the Oval Office window, which he did, with Obama warning other agents: “Don't shoot him.” The producers thought of using the quote as a title but didn’t once they realized that it might sound like they were talking about Obama.
Seinfeld Had to Be Briefed on What to Do in Case of an Assassination Attempt
While filming the White House episode, the “nervous” staff briefed Seinfeld on what to do if someone started shooting at them — beyond shooting back with a barrage of airline peanut jokes.
Seinfeld Had Never Met Mel Brooks Before
Memorably, in one episode, Seinfeld got to hang out with both Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks. Seinfeld had somehow never met Brooks before and later claimed that after chatting with the comedy legends, he was a bit "wobbly" on the way out.
A Classic Ferrari Broke Down During Filming
While filming the episode with Amy Schumer, the classic Ferarri Seinfeld was driving broke down, and “started smoking on the streets of New York City.” Seinfeld called the car “a piece of s**t.”
The Steve Martin Episode Was The Worst to Film
Somehow, though, Schumer’s episode wasn’t the most difficult one to film. According to the crew, the worst from a production standpoint was the one with Steve Martin. First of all, Seinfeld followed the wrong SUV, which took them across the George Washington Bridge, far away from the diner they were scheduled to visit. Then the vintage Italian automobile crapped out, leaving the pair of comedy legends stranded for 45 minutes. And, on top of everything else, a camera was stolen.
The Highest Rated Episode Is the Michael Richards One
Of all the series’ episodes, for some reason, the top-rated episode on IMDb is “It’s Bubbly Time, Jerry” — aka “The One with Michael Richards.” Really, IMDb voters? Gross.
The Gary Shandling Episode Has An Unfortunate Title
One of the show’s best episodes was the one with Gary Shandling, which was filmed shortly before his death. Due to his and Jerry’s conversations about mortality, it was titled “It’s Great That Garry Shandling Is Still Alive.” I mean, it was at the time.
It Took Years to Get Eddie Murphy As A Guest
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee tried to get Murphy on the show "for years" but couldn’t make it happen. The deal was only sealed because Netflix head honcho Ted Sarandos was on the set of Dolemite is My Name, called Seinfeld and approached Murphy in person. Murphy agreed to do the show and told Sarandos that he had actually “seen every single episode.”
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