TV Times – 13 July 2019

Comedy great Jerry

Seinfeldon keeping

the laughs flowing

for his hit chat show

T

he last time Ricky Gervais

appeared on Jerry Seinfeld’s

hit show Comedians in Cars

Getting Coffee, he genuinely

feared for his life.

Sitting in the passenger seat

of a 1967 Austin-Healey 3000 in

2012, he felt he was in ‘a tin bath...

a deathtrap’ on the hair-raising,

high-speed drive to a cafe in the

Bronx, where he and Jerry could

drink coffee, swap stories and

generally chat about life.

‘We were really struggling to

keep that car on the road! Ricky’s

was the scariest ride,’ laughs Jerry,

65, who’s used his A-list powers of

persuasion to make Ricky buckle

up again in a two-part special for

the 11th series, which launches

on Netflix this week.

Ricky’s not the only big name

to have agreed to take a spin

with the legendary Seinfeld star.

The 12-part series features

a mix of Hollywood favourites

as well as veteran comedians,

including Seth Rogen, Matthew

Broderick, Jamie Foxx and

even a surprise appearance

from Eddie Murphy.

‘I love the coffee, I love the

cars, I love the comedians. And,

yes, doing the show with Eddie

was really special,’ teases Jerry,

reluctant to spoil what the actor

divulges. ‘But really, every person

on this show makes me laugh.’

From humble beginnings as

a small American web show, the

series has gained cult status, and,

in 2017, was snapped up by Netflix,

which now has all 71 episodes

available to stream.

Whether it’s Ellen DeGeneres

talking about ‘coming out’ or actor

Alec Baldwin sharing childhood

memories, the stars are unusually

candid, with the brief ride-and-

chat format having a more relaxed

feel than your average talk show.

‘I think of it as comedy video,’

explains Jerry. ‘It’s got the talk we

love, but I want it to have colour,

flavour and movement. What

I hate about a talk show is when

two people are just planted in

front of a backdrop doing nothing.

Comedians have more fun when

they move around!’

Coffee, he explains, proved the

inspiration for the show. ‘I only

started drinking it a few years

before the series began in 2012,’

reveals Jerry. ‘So I was like,

“This is fantastic! It makes

you chatty! Why don’t I do

a show around comedians

drinking coffee, getting chatty?”

That’s where it started. I’ve found

coffee has a unique quality for

On Demand

The best of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, iPlayer, NOW TV and much more...

PHOTOS: NETFLIX

NEW COMEDY

Comedians in Cars

Getting Coffee

Available Fri 19 July

Episodes 12

Running time 14-23 mins

Coffee

is a comedic

substance

Barack Obama

The then US President

is the perfect sparring

partner for Jerry

in 2015’s Just Tell

Him You’re the

President episode.

Steve Martin

The funnyman shows

his humility in this

uplifting 2016

episode, If You See

This on a Toilet Seat,

Don’t Sit Down.

Jerry Lewis

The pair visit Vegas

in a 1966 Jaguar

E-Type in the 2018

episode Heere’s

Jerry!, which was

filmed shortly before

Jerry Lewis’ death.

‘I don’t drink coffee,’

he said. So Jerry replied,

‘Why don’t we take a nap

together, then?’

Special blend!

We handpick three of

Jerry’sbest episodes

COMEDIANS IN CARS GETTING

COFFEE IS PREVIEWED

ON PAGES 80-81

Eddie Murphy^

joins Jerry

To p

cheer!

conversation – it makes people

warm up to each other.’

The series is also perfect for

indulging his passion for cars – it’s

estimated he owns around 150!

‘To me, cars are like people,’ says

Jerry. ‘To be honest, they are more

interesting than people!’

With stars clamouring to

climb on board, Jerry’s hopeful

the series will run and run. ‘I’m

obsessed with the show and love

that it’s found an audience,’ he says.

‘Coffee is a comedic substance

to me. It’s the preferred social

lubricant of the overactive mind!’

Rebecca Fletcher

With Ellen^

DeGeneres

TV TIMES 21

Ricky Gervais joins

Jerry for another ride