'' was a satirical television series that originally aired from
1992 to
1998 on the
HBO Cable Television network in the
USA . It starred former stand-up comedian
Garry Shandling as the show's vain, self-obsessed, neurotic host, Larry Sanders. The series, which was partly inspired by Shandling's stint as a guest host on ''
The Tonight Show '', is ranked by many critics and fans alongside ''
Seinfeld '' as one of the best TV comedies.
The series was a unique satire of the behind-the-scenes problems and relationships of a network
Talk Show host, his staff and their guests. The plot and situations found in each episode drew heavily from the real-life world of shows like ''
The Late Show With David Letterman '', ''
The Tonight Show '' (under both
Johnny Carson and
Jay Leno ), and ''
The Arsenio Hall Show '', although many aspects were exaggerated.
''The Larry Sanders Show'' was particularly notable because the off-stage segments of the show were shot in
Single-camera Mode , using a film camera, and had no 'laugh track' (most situation comedies are either taped before a live audience or dubbed with
Canned Laughter ), which gave it a behind-the-scenes documentary feel. However, it cleverly kept a foot in both camps, so to speak, because the 'on-stage' segments depicting the ''Larry Sanders Show'' in production were videotaped with a
Multiple-camera Setup with a live audience—much like a real ''Tonight Show''. However, according to an interview with Tom Shales, Shandling found this to be too time consuming, and after the first season only a select few "live" segments were taped with an audience. The show was also renowned (or notorious) for its no-holds-barred language, and featured
Profanities galore—a luxury made possible by being screened on
U.S. Cable TV , which is not subject to the same indecency regulations as broadcast TV.
Each episode featured celebrity guests who usually played themselves appearing on the fictional ''Larry Sanders Show'', and who were often the primary source of conflict between Sanders and his co-workers. Guests included
Elvis Costello ,
Chris Farley ,
Sharon Stone ,
Danny DeVito ,
Rob Reiner and
Jon Lovitz among others. One of the most memorable guest spots was the cameo appearance in the final episode by
X-Files star
David Duchovny , who performed a parody of the
Sharon Stone 'flashing' scene from ''
Basic Instinct ''. Duchovny frequently made cameos on the show, usually flirting with Larry in an unwelcome manner.
In addition to Shandling, the show also starred
Rip Torn as Arthur, the show's producer,
Jeffrey Tambor as Larry's egotistical sidekick Hank "Hey Now" Kingsley,
Janeane Garofalo ,
Scott Thompson ,
Bob Odenkirk ,
Linda Doucett ,
Penny Johnson ,
Sarah Silverman and others.
Directors and writers of note include
Ken Kwapis (''
The Office '' (US), ''
Malcolm In The Middle ''),
David Mirkin (''
The Simpsons '', ''
Get A Life ''),
Paul Flaherty (''
SCTV ''),
Carol Leifer (''Seinfeld''), comedian
Jeff Cesario , and
Adam Resnick (''
Late Night With David Letterman '', ''Get A Life''). Kwapis, who directed the bulk of the first season episodes, was particularly instrumental in determining the style of the program.
The series also screened in
Australia on free-to-air television on
Network Ten (in a late-night timeslot, and with some censoring of language) and unedited on the
Foxtel cable network's Comedy Channel. It also aired in the UK on
BBC Two , originally in late-night slots despite calls by fans and critics for a primetime screening. Regular repeats later appeared on UK
Satellite Television on the channel
Paramount Comedy 1 . It returned to (digital) terrestrial TV in the UK on
ITV4 in October 2005. It is currently being repeated on the Irish television network
RTÉ Two .
- "The Larry Sanders Show - The Entire First Season" was released on February 26, 2002 by Sony Pictures . No dates have been given for additional seasons. It has been suggested that additional DVD releases are unlikely, due to the costly licensing fees required by the music acts that appear on most episodes. As of late 2005, Garry Shandling was reportedly working on a "best of" DVD.
- "The Larry Sanders Show: The Best Episodes" was released by Sony Pictures UK in 2000. It is a compilation containing the following episodes: #302, "Montana" (Robin Williams); #403, "Hank's Sex Tape" (Henry Winkler, Norm MacDonald); #408, "Larry's Big Idea" (Courtney Cox, David Letterman); #412, "I Was a Teenage Lesbian" (Brett Butler). Also included are two first season episodes ("The Guest Host," "The Talk Show"), as well as the second season episode, "The List" (#203) which was left out of the US cable syndication package offered to BRAVO . However, it is available to local affiliates.
- "Confessions of a Late-night Talk-show Host: The Autobiography of Larry Sanders" was written by Garry Shandling in-character as Larry Sanders. It was released October 4, 1999.
