The Larry Sanders Show
| The Larry Sanders Show | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Dennis Klein & Garry Shandling |
| Starring | Garry Shandling Jeffrey Tambor Rip Torn |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 89 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | HBO |
| Release | August 15, 1992 – May 31, 1998 |
The Larry Sanders Show is an Emmy Award- and Peabody Award-winning satirical television sitcom that originally aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered around the running of his TV show, and the many people behind the scenes. It is notable for featuring celebrities as themselves (often parodying themselves) and its character-based humour, which is similar to other series like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage and Extras, all of which also air or have aired on HBO.
The series, in which Shandling used his experience as a guest host on The Tonight Show, is ranked by various critics and fans alongside Seinfeld as one of the best TV comedies of the 1990s. The series also ranked #38 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time and was included in Time magazine's list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All Time." [1]
Premise
Different kind of sitcom
The Larry Sanders Show mixed video-taped footage of the fictional broadcast show (which was recorded in front of an actual live studio audience) with "behind the scenes" footage shot on film (for example, Larry talking to his guests during the commercial break or the everyday workings of the office between shows). As such it featured real-life celebrity guests as they appeared on the talk show, but also as they appeared behind the scenes. This gave the writers and the celebrity guests the opportunity to send up their media images while making the show appear more realistic.
Guests
Most episodes 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 Robin Williams, David Duchovny, Roseanne Barr, Elvis Costello, Chris Farley, Sharon Stone is sexy, Jon Stewart, Danny DeVito, Rob Reiner, Alec Baldwin, Jon Lovitz, David Spade, Dana Carvey, Jim Carrey, John Ritter, Bob Saget, Bruno Kirby, Ellen DeGeneres and Howard Stern, among others. Jeff Cesario was the butt of a long running joke, being frequently "bumped" when booked to appear.
On the season 1 DVD, Shandling says the guests were invariably very happy to parody their media images and generally shared the same sense of humour as himself and the other writers.
Regular cast and characters
In addition to Shandling, the show featured the following regular primary actors and characters [2][3]:
- Rip Torn as Arthur ("Artie"), the show's producer
- Jeffrey Tambor as Larry's sidekick Hank Kingsley
- Penny Johnson as Larry's personal assistant, Beverly
- Janeane Garofalo as the show's booker Paula (until episode 76)
- Mary Lynn Rajskub as the show's booking assistant/booker Mary Lou (from episode 69)
- Jeremy Piven as head writer Jerry (until episode 25)
- Wallace Langham as writer/head writer Phil
- Linda Doucett as Hank's personal assistant Darlene (until episode 48)
- Scott Thompson as Hank's personal assistant Brian (from episode 50)
- Megan Gallagher as Larry's second ex-wife Jeannie (episodes 1-13, 53)
- Kathryn Harrold as Larry's first ex-wife Francine (episodes 14-30)
- Deborah May as network executive Melanie Parrish
- Bob Odenkirk as Larry's agent Stevie Grant
Crew
Directors and writers of note include Judd Apatow (The 40 Year Old Virgin) who also became an executive producer on the show, Todd Holland (Twin Peaks, Malcolm in the Middle, Friends), Ken Kwapis (The Office (US), Malcolm in the Middle), David Mirkin (The Simpsons, Get A Life), Jon Vitti, (The Simpsons, Da Ali G Show), Joe Flaherty (SCTV), Carol Leifer (Seinfeld), comedian Jeff Cesario (Dennis Miller Live), Adam Resnick (Late Night with David Letterman, Get A Life) and Paul Simms (NewsRadio).
Ken Kwapis and Todd Holland, who directed the bulk of the first season, were particularly instrumental in determining the style of the program.
List of episodes
Awards won by The Larry Sanders Show
| Award | Category | Recipient |
|---|---|---|
| Emmy Awards 1998 | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Comedy Series | Peter Tolan & Garry Shandling (for "Flip") |
| Emmy Awards 1998 | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing in a Comedy Series | Todd Holland (for "Flip") |
| Emmy Awards 1996 | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Rip Torn |
| Peabody Awards 1998 | "Flip" | |
| Peabody Awards 1993 | ||
| Rose d'Or Festival 1997 | Sitcom | |
| Satellite Awards 1997 | Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical | |
| Television Critics Association Awards 1997 & 1998 | Outstanding Achievement in Comedy |
DVD releases
- The Larry Sanders Show - The Entire First Season was released on February 26, 2002 by Sony Pictures.
- 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" (Courteney 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.
- A DVD set drawn from all six seasons titled Not Just the Best of the Larry Sanders Show was released by Sony Pictures on April 17, 2007.[1] The 4-disc DVD set features 23 episodes and features 8 hours of bonus material. Shandling re-visits the show's cast and guest stars including Jerry Seinfeld, Alec Baldwin, Sharon Stone, David Duchovny, Carol Burnett, Jon Stewart, Ellen DeGeneres, Jeremy Piven, Sarah Silverman, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Greg Kinnear, and Tom Petty.
- The release of additional seasons has been mentioned by Shandling. The first season was re-released to coincide with Not Just the Best of the Larry Sanders Show, and season two is said to be next.[2]
Books
- Confessions of a Late-night Talk-show Host: The Autobiography of Larry Sanders (ISBN 067102910X) was written by Garry Shandling in-character as Larry Sanders. It was released October 4, 1999. The book was the topic of season five's episode ten, which was also under the same title.
External links
- Epguides - episodes and air dates guide
- The Larry Sanders Show at IMDb
- Sony Pictures Larry Sanders DVD web page
- Maxim interview with Garry Shandling on Not Just the Best Of The Larry Sanders Show DVD release
