Seinfeld rolls on for a new cuppa laughs
‘Comedians in Cars’ cruises over to Netflix
NEW YORK – Rev your engines, comedy fans: Jerry Seinfeld is hitting the road again.
The TV legend is back behind the wheel for a 10th season of “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” streaming on Netflix Friday. The show, which moves from Sony Crackle, centers on lively conversations between Seinfeld and fellow comedians as they drive around in classic vehicles and stop for java.
The new batch of 12 episodes, which range from 15 to 20 minutes, features a star-studded guest roster. Seinfeld, 64, chats with USA TODAY.
Question: Who were you most excited to invite on the show this season?
Jerry Seinfeld: Jerry Lewis, who was an idol of mine from childhood. Kate McKinnon, who I’m kind of obsessed with, because she’s an incredibly talented person. Zach Galifianakis and I collided: We took his show, “Between Two Ferns,” and my show and crashed them together, so that was really fun. It was like “The Munsters” go visit “The Addams Family.”
Q: Which make better guests: good friends or comedians you’re less fa-
miliar with but get to know?
Seinfeld: They’re both good. I had Ellen DeGeneres, who I knew in the early ’80s and hadn’t seen in many years, so it was great to see her again. It’s fun to see somebody that you knew from the early knockaround days and go, “Hey, congratulations. You made it.”
Q: Who’s on your wish list?
Seinfeld: I really want to have Jamie Foxx on the show next season. I’m a huge fan of his – he started as a standup. I bumped into him at this event the other night and was reminded of how incredibly funny he is. He does so many other things that you forget he’s really a comic.
Q: You’ve said many times that you don’t like getting political in your comedy —
Seinfeld: I’m not good at it. And I don’t like “we agree” applause. As a comedian, I don’t think that’s fun to get. I like it when people just laugh.
Q: Who do you think does smart political humor now?
Seinfeld: I was watching Michelle Wolf ’s new show (Netflix’s “The Break”) yesterday. She was breaking down conversations from some of the political shows, and I liked that. It’s kind of like diagramming a sentence from school. I like when comedians break things down: They go, “Here’s the way it was presented to you. Now let’s take this watch apart.”
Q: A few years ago, you called Trump “God’s gift to comedy.” Do you still agree?
Seinfeld: Absolutely. There’s so much material. Can you imagine how bad “SNL” would be without Trump? It’s so much more fun now.
Q: Would you ever invite him on your show?
Seinfeld: You have to be a comedian (to be on my show). You can’t be some- one who’s made fun of — you actually have to be funny yourself. So far, we haven’t really seen that, but we’re watching closely. You got to show up at the White House Correspondents’ dinner and do a funny monologue. That’s how (President Barack) Obama got on the show. Remember his monologues at the correspondents’ dinners? Very funny stuff.
Q: There have been many revivals of old TV shows in the past few years. How do you feel about the trend?
Seinfeld: I don’t love that trend — I’m not a fan of going back. I like to go forward, make up something new. I don’t like retreads, I don’t like sequels, I don’t like Throwback Thursday. I like to look at old pictures, but other than that, let’s move on.
Q: How do you feel about ABC’s decision to cancel “Roseanne” after Roseanne Barr’s racist tweet in May?
Seinfeld: I don’t even know why they had to do that. It seemed like you don’t need to murder someone that’s committing suicide. I thought the firing was overkill. She’s already dead.