10 must-watch Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee episodes ahead of season 11

There’s good news for fans of sweet rides, freshly brewed coffee and witty repartee because the eleventh season of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee premieres on Netflix July 19.

Creator and host Jerry Seinfeld’s esoteric web-series-turned-Netflix-darling Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee returns for a new season, featuring java, obscenely expensive cars and interviews with the best and brightest in the world of comedy.

Some of Seinfeld’s passengers include Eddie Murphy (Coming 2 America), Seth Rogen (The Lion King), Martin Short (Saturday Night Live) and Matthew Broderick (Better Things).

Take a peek at Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee season 11:

Before you buckle up and enjoy money shot after money shot of coffee being poured slowly and seductively into retro diner cups, it might be a good time to revisit some of the series’ standout episodes.

Here are 10 episodes of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee that are sure to keep you revved up until it’s time for your next fix.

10. Trevor Noah (First Cup: Episode 7)

The Daily Show host Trevor Noah shoots the breeze with Seinfeld at a quiet coffee shop in Dumbo, Brooklyn. Noah is very easy on the eyes, incredibly charismatic with a smooth South African accent that washes over you like a warm cappuccino. There is no mistaking his intelligence, and he’s humble as well.

The majority of the series’ interviews are with comics Seinfeld has known for years, and the banter is light. But there are times when it’s nice to dig a bit deeper. Noah discusses spending his childhood in Johannesburg during apartheid, and the constant threats his parents faced as an interracial couple.

Noah has every reason to be cynical and bitter, growing up in the ’80s as a second-class citizen in his own country. But he’s the total opposite, and it’s impossible not to be fascinated with his anecdotes about growing up under a racist regime.

It’s Noah’s calm, tolerant tone that makes him the go-to guy Americans run to for some sense of comfort and understanding when our president does something incredibly stupid.

9. Ricky Gervais (First Cup: Episode 14)

Ricky Gervais (The Office, Extras) is probably best known in the U.S. for offending just about every star in Hollywood as the host of the Golden Globes. Despite whatever controversy he stirred up during his boozy monologues, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association kept bringing Gervais back for more (four times).

What really separates Gervais’ appearance from his fellow comedians is that for most of the episode, he’s completely terrified. Seinfeld hurdles down the highway in a 1967 Austin-Healey 3000. Gervais notes from the jump there’s no airbag, and while he does his best to be a good sport, there’s no doubt he’s worried this talk show appearance could be his last.

There is a moment when Seinfeld calls out Gervais for being pro-choice but anti-death penalty, stating it’s easy for Gervais to reconcile certain hypocrisies since he’s rich and famous. Gervais’ reply immediately eradicates any perceptible discomfort. “Unlike you, who’s just a guy with an old car, going along the highway, laughing maniacally ’cause someone feels they’re about to die.”

It’s obvious these two love to dish it out but also have the humor to take it.

8. Barack Obama (Light & Sweet: Episode 1)

Saying a few jokes written by someone on the president’s staff for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner does not make the president a stand-up comedian. But it appears to be enough if you’re Jerry Seinfeld and want to hang out with the coolest president ever, Barack Obama.

From the moment Seinfeld plops down on the sofa in the Oval Office, grabs an apple from a bowl and asks if it has been washed, we know this is going to be fun.

Being the leader of the free world means you can’t dip out for a latte at the nearest Starbucks, so they’re stuck with a sad coffeemaker in some West Wing break room. It feels sort of like an episode of Veep.

"Obama: I always wanted to be in a show about nothing, and here I am.Seinfeld: There’s nothing more nothing than this. Nothing."

The former president does get to drive a 1963 Corvette Stingray (chosen by Seinfeld because all but one of the original astronauts drove Corvettes), but only on the driveway.

7. Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Light & Sweet: Episode 6)

Seinfeld has interviewed all of his previous castmates, but his reunion with Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep) is the best. Maybe it’s because of their specific chemistry, or because she’s still in the spotlight while Jason Alexander’s and Michael Richards’ careers have floundered. Whatever it is, watching these two riff off each other and reminisce about the old days makes you wish the episode was just a little bit longer.

"Seinfeld: It is so fun to be reminded of how funny you are.Louis-Dreyfus: Oh, likewise."

There’s a palpable affection and camaraderie between the two that can only be surpassed by people who’ve survived a life-or-death situation together. At one point, Louis-Dreyfus gets on the phone with Seinfeld’s wife and thanks the woman for “training him into becoming a human being.” There’s nothing quite like reliving the glory days with your friend, a man who is “nicer than Hitler.”

We’ll probably never see a Seinfeld reunion (not that there’s anything wrong with that), but moments like these prove to be enough.

6. Amy Schumer (Special Blend: Episode 1)

Post-Trainwreck, but pre-I Feel Pretty, marriage and motherhood, Amy Schumer caught Seinfeld’s eye. The title of their particular episode should be “Comedians’ Cars Breaking Down When Trying to Get Coffee.” How apropos that a yellow Ferrari turns out to be a lemon.

Schumer dials down her jokes about sex and female body parts, but there is one gynecological reference. It’s difficult to express how off-putting it is to hear Jerry Seinfeld say the word “vagina.”

It’s obvious Seinfeld is teeing Schumer up because one part of their conversation contains some of her old stand-up material. Schumer comes off as much less debaucherous as her persona, and she admits she’s not comfortable talking to strangers, nor does she drink as much as she leads her fans to believe.

As the broken-down Ferrari proves, it’s not the journey, it’s the destination.

5. Steve Martin (Special Blend: Episode 3)

Seinfeld sits down with some serious comic heavyweights including: Mel Brooks (The Producers), Carl Reiner (The Dick Van Dyke Show), Don Rickles (The Don Rickles Show), Jerry Lewis (The Nutty Professor) and Dana Carvey (Saturday Night Live). It’s tough to pick one icon among so many, but for this list, we’re singling out none other than The Jerk himself, Steve Martin.

Martin is truly a Renaissance man. He’s written books and movies, his early stand-up routines are legendary, and he’s an actor and a musician (Martin plays a mean banjo). Martin can boast about a life well-lived (he played poker with Tonight Show host Johnny Carson), but despite his enormous success, he attributes a great deal of his early success to gauging the mood of the country following the Vietnam War. “And part of my goal was to be absurd in a very serious time.”

Throw together two comedians who love other comics or a town named Pleasantville and a messy egg salad sandwich, and you start to understand why comics are just so freakin’ cool.

4. Jim Gaffigan (Special Blend: Episode 7)

It’s hard to imagine Jim Gaffigan, his wife and their five children living in a two-bedroom apartment in New York City, but they did. It’s hard to believe Gaffigan can fill any silence with unexpected and inane questions, but he does. Mostly, it’s awe-inspiring how much food he can talk about while actually eating it.

"Seinfeld: I can’t believe how similar we are.Gaffigan: You’re a big influence on me. Is it Jerry?"

It’s Gaffigan who does most of the talking,  jumping from the insanity of embarking on a career in comedy to Steve Miller’s “Abracadabra” with nary a segue, and Seinfeld is right there with him.

You’d have a difficult time finding two such polar opposites when it comes to everything from upbringing, to personality, to looks, but one commonality is how they both approach comedy.

3. Fred Armisen (Special Blend: Episode 8)

Seinfeld’s interviews usually take place in and around New York or in Los Angeles, but to grab coffee with Saturday Night Live alum, Fred Armisen, Seinfeld heads all the way to Portland, Oregan, where Armisen filmed his show Portlandia. Seeing Jerry Seinfeld in the land of hipsters is enough reason to check this one out.

For a comedian, Armisen is disarmingly soft-spoken and just chill. These characteristics are magnified by Seinfeld who behaves like a stereotypical New Yorker. Armisen serves as an ambassador for the city, and he’s embraced it so much that if Portland were a person, it would be Fred Armisen.

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee doesn’t just provide insight into comedy as an art form, it makes you crave pancakes, or it causes you to realize what’s been missing in your life is a beige Porsche with cork interior.

This episode with its food trucks and Armisen’s quirky vibe will have you booking a flight and in line at Voodoo Doughnut in no time.

2. Zach Galifianakis (Freshly Brewed: Episode 1)

Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover) is kind of angry. He spends most of his time with Seinfeld complaining about the pitfalls of fame. His biggest pet peeve being his loss of privacy. Galifianakis stops just short of becoming completely enraged when fans film him in public.

Seinfeld, who often comments how much he enjoys fame, has a different perspective, explaining to his guest that this kind of thing goes with the territory.

This keyed-up Galifianakis couldn’t be further from hapless dope he plays in The Hangover; the movie that put him on the map.

Seinfeld and Galifianakis gorge themselves on doughnuts, washing them down with copious amounts of coffee. Then Galifianakis ambushes Seinfeld, luring him to appear on Between Two Ferns — Galifianakis’ own irreverent talk show.

1. Ellen DeGeneres (Freshly Brewed: Episode 3)

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee abandons the format of traditional talk shows for a reason: nobody is promoting anything, and there is no agenda. These mini road trips and meandering walk and talks serve no real purpose other than to entertain.

While many of the series’ episodes don’t amount to much more than people who are famous or quasi-famous just hanging out, Seinfeld’s time with DeGeneres is a bit more illuminating. She covers everything from her very first performance to the joke that turned out to be her big break.

This isn’t the Ellen DeGeneres you’ve seen doing stand-up or even on her talk show. This doesn’t mean their interaction is humorless, but it’s just dry — a very toned down example of what made them both famous (prior to DeGeneres’ overwhelming success talking to others about their lives more frequently than divulging stuff about her own).

Are you looking forward to the new season of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee? Tell us why in the comments section below.