The Larry Sanders Show

The Larry Sanders Show
Larry Sanders Show title card
Format	Comedy
Created by	Dennis Klein Garry Shandling
Starring	Garry Shandling Jeffrey Tambor Rip Torn Penny Johnson Janeane Garofalo Jeremy Piven Wallace Langham
Composer(s)	Frank Fitzpatrick
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	89 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Brad Grey Garry Shandling
Location(s)	Los Angeles
Cinematography	Peter Smokler
Camera setup	Single camera
Running time	approx. 22-28 min.
Production company(s)	Brillstein-Grey Entertainment Columbia Pictures Television HBO Partners with Boundaries
Distributor	Columbia TriStar HBO Sony Pictures Television
Broadcast
Original channel	HBO
Original run	August 15, 1992 – May 31, 1998
External links
Official website

The Larry Sanders Show is a 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 on the running of his TV show, and the many people behind the scenes. It is notable for featuring celebrities playing exaggerated, self-parodying versions of themselves, and for its character-based humor. Other series which subsequently aired on HBO, such as Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage, shared these traits.

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

Plot

The show revolves around Larry Sanders, (Gary Shandling) host of the fictional talk show The Larry Sanders Show. It chronicles the daily life of Larry; the show's producer, Arthur "Artie" (Rip Torn); Larry's sidekick, Hank (Jeffrey Tambor); and the production staff as they attempt to produce a successful talk show each night while dealing with celebrities, the network and everything in between. Episodes focus on both the professional and personal lives of the characters, with the majority of shows focusing on Larry Sanders. However, ancillary characters are also prominently featured, such as Jerry, the show's head writer for the first and second seasons; Phil, the head writer beginning in season two; Beverly, Larry's assistant; Darlene, Hank's assistant until the fourth season; Brian, Hank's assistant beginning in the fourth season; Paula, the show's booker until the fifth season; and Mary Lue, the assistant booker and then booker starting in the fifth season.

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, Mimi Rogers, Chris Farley, Pat Sajak, Alex Trebek, Billy Crystal, Sharon Stone, Jon Stewart, Danny DeVito, Rob Reiner, Alec Baldwin, Jon Lovitz, David Spade, Dana Carvey, Jim Carrey, John Ritter, Bob Saget, Bruno Kirby, Ellen DeGeneres, Bobcat Goldthwait, 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 humor as himself and the other writers.

Cast and characters

The following is a list of cast and characters who have appear in all or some seasons of the show.

• Garry Shandling as Larry Sanders, the show's primary character.
• 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 14-31)
• Deborah May as network executive Melanie Parrish
• Bob Odenkirk as Larry's agent Stevie Grant
• Sarah Silverman as writer Wendy (episodes 57, 74, 75)

Crew

Directors

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2009)

The show had a lot of directors for its run, the most known director directing on the show is Todd Holland, who directed 52 episodes of the show. Holland is also the only director to have directed episodes of all seasons. Holland was the head director of season two, three, four and five. Garry Shandling was the head director of the sixth season, having directed three episodes of the season, while Holland directed only two. Another well known director on the show was Ken Kwapis, although he only directed episodes of the first and second season. Overall he directed 13 episodes. Kwapis was the head director in the first season. Some directors who directed only one episode in the entire show's run are: Dennis Erdman, Paul Flaherty, John Riggi, Michael Lange, Divid Mirkin, Melonie Mayron and Judd Apatow. Directors who directed two or more episodes are: Michael Lehmann and Alan Myerson. The show has only received an Emmy Award for directing. It went to Todd Holland for directing the series finale Flip.

Writers

More than 40 writers have written or guest written episodes of the show. Garry Shandling and Peter Tolan were the head writers in all of the show's six seasons. Shandling wrote 38, while Tolan wrote 23 episodes. Shandling and Tolan are also the only persons associated with the show to have received an Emmy Award, and that was for writing the series finale Flip. Other writers on the show were Maya Forbes, Paul Simms, Judd Apatow, John Riggi and Jon Vitti.

Episodes

Awards won by The Larry Sanders Show

Honors

After the show ended, it began to be considered one of the most popular TV shows of all time. The biggest honor it received was a spot on Time magazine's 100 Greatest Shows of All Time. In 2008, Entertainment Weekly ranked The Larry Sanders Show the 28th Greatest Show of the past 25 years. Also, TV Guide named it the 38th Greatest Show of All Time. Hank's famous phrase, "Hey now" became part of normal conversations of daily lives. Another phrase "No Fliping" became known in the talk show host community and sometimes use in different talk shows. During its 6 year run, The Larry Sanders Show won 24 awards including three Emmy awards.

After the show ended, many other shows used the same concept of The Larry Sanders Show: have a celebrity guest appear on every single episode of the show. Other would be Entourage, Extras and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Progression

Season 1

The first season premiered on August 15, 1992 and ended on November 7, 1992, and was an initial success. For the first season, the show always began with Hank repeating the same line throughout the season, and some early episodes of the show began with the title line of the fictional talk show, The Larry Sanders Show. In later seasons of the show, the episodes begin a little differently and without the original title card. There was no story arc for this season.

Some popular episodes of the season are: "The Garden Weasel", in which the network whants Larry to do live commercial during the show; "The Spider Episode", in which Larry is afraid to do a sketch which involves spiders, since he is afriad of spiders; "The New Producer", in which the network whants to replace Artie; "Out in the Loop", in which Artie whants Larry out of the loop, involving Jarry and Sally having sex on his desk; "The Flirt Episode" in which Larry tries not to flirt with Mimi Rogers on the next show; and the season finale "The Hey Now Episode", in which Larry and Artie try to make Hank appreciates the show more.

The season was nominated for 8 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series, but lost to Seinfeld. However, The Larry Sanders Show became the very first cable TV series to be nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. Garry Shandling was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Rip Torn and Jeffrey Tambor where nominated for [[Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Dana Carvey and Carrol Burnett was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor and Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. Dannis Klien and Garry Shandling was nominated for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series for the Pilot episode. Garry Shandling, Paul Simms, Peter Tolan and Rosie Shuster where nominated in for the same category for The Spider Episode.

Season 2

The second season premiered on June 2, 1993 and ended on September 29, 1993. Some episodes of this season started differently from others of the first season. It either began with the show's fictional title card or with Larry, Hank or Artie getting tangled in some kind of network situation. The story arc in this season was Larry beginning a new relationship with his ex-wife, after he had divorced his current wife.

Some popular episodes of the season are: "Larry's Agent", in which Larry tries to fire his agent; "Life Behind Larry" in which Larry whants to get in most of the groups activities; "Broadcast Nudes", in which Hank wants Darlene to pose naked on the new Playboy magazine; "Larry's Birthday" in which Larry doesn't want anyone throwing a party for his birthday, but they still have one, this is also the episode where Jerry (the head writer of the show is fired; "Being There", in which Hank tries to promote his new retaurant; "Off Camera", in which Artie has to deal with all the stress that Larry suffers every show; and the season finale "L.A or N.Y?", in which Larry leaves the show to be in Montana which Larry decides to move to Montana, instead of New York or stay in L.A.

The show was nominated for four Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series, but lost to Frasier and would continue losing to the same series for the rest of its run. Rip Torn was nominated for Outstanding Suppoting Actor in a Comedy. Todd Holland was nominated for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series for the episode Life Behind Larry. Garry Shandling, Paul Simms, Drake Sathers, Victor Levin and Maya Forbes where nominated for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series for the episode Larry's Agent.

Season 3

The season premiered on July 22, 1994 and ended in October 12, 1994. There was no story-arc in this season. The original title of the show became less common in this season.

Some of the most popular episodes of the season were: "Montana", in which the show gets back on the air after his life in Montana sucks; "You're Having My Baby", in which a woman claims that she is having Larry's baby; "People's Choice", in which tries to host the People's Choice Awards, while Hank the announcer; "Hank's Night in the Sun", in which Hank fulfilled his dreams of becoming guest host for the show, "The Mr. Sharon Stone Show", which Larry has a short-lived relationship with Sharon Stone, "Head writer", in which Phil becomes temporarily the head writer of the show, "Hank's Divorce", in which Hank gets divorced and the season finale "Ed of the Seasons" in which Larry gets engaged with Roseanne Barr.

The season was nominated for six Emmy awards, including for the third year in a row for Outstanding Comedy Series, but lost to Frasier again. Garry Shandling was nominated Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Rip Torn was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Todd Holland was nominated for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series for the episode of Hank's Night in the Sun. Peter Tolan was nominated for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series for the episode Hank's Night in the Sun. It received another nomination in that same category, Garry Shandling and Peter Tolan for the episode "The Mr. Sharon Stone Show". This season also received a Golden Globe nomination for Gary Shandling in the category for Best Lead Actor in Musical or Comedy for his work on this season. It recivede one nomination for the Directors Guild of America Award for Todd Holland in the episode The Mr. Sharon Stone Show.

Season 4

The season premiered on July 19, 1995 and ended in Novomber 22, 1995. This season had no story-arc. The original title of the show was removed in most episodes of this season.

Some of the most popular episodes of the show such as: "Rosanne's Ruturn", in which Larry had to face Roseanne Barr after their engagement broke off, "Hank's New Assistant", in which Hank gets a new assistant after Darlene quits, "Arthur After Hours", in which it is revealed what Artie does after the show had an unsuccessful broadcast, "Jeanne's Visit", in which Larry's ex-wife, Jeannie, visits the show, "Hank's Sex Tape", in which Hank goes depressed when a sex tape is leaked in the whole internet and release in home video when he had not plans to release, Eight in which the cast and crew celebrate the 8th anniversary of The Larry Sanders Show and the season finale "Larry's On Vacation", in which Sandra Bernhard tries to take over the show .

The season was nominated for 12 Emmy award and for the fourth time in a row nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series but lost for the third time in a row to Frasier. Despite losing the Emmy again, The Larry Sanders Show received its first Emmy award. It went to Rip Torn in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Garry Shandling was niominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Rip Torn and Jeffrey Tambor where nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in Comedy Series. The show recived two nominations for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series. One for Todd Holland for the episode Arthur After Hours, another for Michael Leachmann for the episode I was a Tenage Lesbian. It recived three nominations for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series. One for Garry Shandling, Steve Levitan and Maya Forbes for the episode Roseanne's Return, onather for Peter Tolan for the episode Arthur After Hours, onather for Jon Vitti for Hank's Sex Tape. Jeneanne Gorafalo was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in Comedy Series. Rossie o'Donnell and Mandy Patinkin where nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress and Guest Actor in Comedy Series for they're guest eppearnce in the show. Gary Shandling was nominated for the second time in a row for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Series at the Golden Globe Award. This season recived four Writers' Guild of America Award. One for Garry Shandling, Steve Levitan and Maya Forbes for the episode Roseanne's Return, another for John Riggi for the episode Hank's New Assistant, another for Peter Tolan for the episode Arthur After Hours and finally one for Peter Tolan for the episode Eight. It recived one Drirector's Guild of America Award nomination for Todd Holland for the episode Arthur After Hours.

Season 5

The season premiered November 13, 1996 and ended on February 26, 1996. This season had no story-arc. There is only one episode that began with the original title of the series.

Some of the most famous episodes of the series where made in this season, others where really good episodes of this season, such as: "Everybody Loves Larry", in which Larry starts suspecting that David Duchovny has sexual feelings for him; "My Name is Asher Kingsley", in which Hank changes and turns into a Jew, much of the crews dismay; "Ellen, or Isn't She?", in which Larry and Artie try to find if Ellen DeGeneres is a real lesbian; "The New Writer", in which Wendy a new writer begins working as a writer for the show, much of Phils dismay; "The Book", in which Larry is convince to write an autobiography of his life; "Pain Equals Funny", in which Paula departures from the show for the rest of its run; and the season finale "Larry's New Love", in which Hank is afriad the network is trying to replace him.

The show was nominated for 16 Emmy awards, and was the most nominated show that year. These 16 nominations broke the record for most nominations for a Comedy Series, meaning that The Larry Sanders Show was the most nominated comedy series for an individual Emmy year. The record was maintaind for ten years, when 30 Rock received 17 nominations. The show was nominated for the fifth time for Outstanding Comedy Series, and was considered a front-runner for Primetime Emmy Award, but with shock, it was defeated by Frasier again. Garry Shandling was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Rip Torn and Jeffrey Tombor where nominated for Outstanding Suppoting Actor in Comedy Series. Jennean Gorafalo was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. It recived two nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series. One for Todd Holland for the episode Everybody Love Larry, another for Alan Myerson for the episode episode Ellen, Or Isn't She?. It recived three nominations for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series. One for Garry Shandling, John Markus and Judd Apatow for the episde Ellen, Or Isn't She?, another for Peter Tolan for the episode My Name is Asher Kingsley, another for Jon Vitti for the episode Everybody Love Larry. David Duchovny and Ellen DeGeneres recived nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor and Guest Actress in Comedy Series. The show was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Series-Musical or Comedy. It recived two Directors' Guild of America Award nominations. One for Todd Holland for the episode Everybody Loves Larry, another for Alan Myerson for the episode Ellen, Or Is't She?. It was also nominated for two Writers' Guild of America Award nominations. One for Mamy Forbes for the episode The Book and another for Garry Shandling, John Markus and Judd Apatow for the episode Ellen, Or Isn't She?.

Season 6

This was the final season of The Larry Sanders Show. It premiere on March 15, 1998 and ended on May 31, 1998. There was no story-arc in this season. There is only one episode which began with the original show's opening.

Some of the most popular episodes of the season were "Another List", in which the network wants to replace Larry with Jon Stewart unless he makes some changes; "The Beginning of the End", in which the show gets a new creative consultant who changes many of the show's background; Adolf Hankler, in which Hank has to be Adolf Hitler, while Larry is on vacation and Jon Stewart guest host; Beverly's Secret, in which Beverly is pregnant and tries to tell the father; Putting the "Gay" Back in Ligalisation, in which Brian (Hank's assistant) sues Phil and the show for sexual harrasment due to Phil's gay jokes; and the series finale: Flip, in which the cast gets ready for their final broadcast and Hank dealing with the emotions of the crew.

For its final Emmy year, it received 10 nominations, and recived its final Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, but it lost its last year to Frasier, whom has defeated The Larry Sanders Show for five years in a row. Nevertheless, it won two Emmy. One for Todd Holland for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series for his direction of the final episode of the show, another for Garry Shandling and Peter Tolan for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series also for the final episode of the show. Garry Shandling was nominated Outstanding Lead Actor in Comedy Series. Rip Torn and Jeffrey Tambor where nominated for Outstanding Suppoting Actor in Comedy Series. It recived one nominations for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series: Richard Day, Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck for the episode Putting the "Gay" Back in Ligation. It recived only one nomination for Directors' Guild of America Award: Todd Holland for th episode Flip.

After the Show

After the show ended, many cast and crew enjoyed other success in television or movies. Gary Shandling returned to his roots of stand-up comedy instead of acting in film or TV. He returned to theaters as a voice actor in the children's film Over the Hedge. Rip Torn guest-starred on 30 Rock, and was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance.

Jeremy Piven portrayed Ari Gold in the HBO series Entourage. He has won three Emmy awards, a Golden Globe Award and several other awards for his perforance in the show. Jeffrey Tambor played George Bluth Sr. in the popular FOX sitcom, Arrested Development. He was nominated for two Emmy award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Janeane Garafalo and Mary Lynn Rajskub both appeared on the television show 24. Wallace Langham appeared on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Judd Apatow, one of the producers of the show and writers, had a successful career after the show, making many adult comedy films such as Knocked Up, Pineapple Express, and currently Year One. Brad Grey, the show's executive producer, produced the Martin Scorsese film The Departed and was the executive producer on The Sopranos.

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.^[2] 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.^[3]

• Select episodes from seasons one, two, three, four, and six are available for free viewing on Crackle.

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 the Internet Movie Database
• The Larry Sanders Show at TV.com
• Sony Pictures Larry Sanders DVD web page
• Maxim interview with Garry Shandling on Not Just the Best Of The Larry Sanders Show DVD release

References

1. ^ http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/completelist/0,,1651341,00.html
2. ^ Sony Pictures - The Best of Larry Sanders Collection
3. ^ Not Just The Best Of The Larry Sanders Show | The A.V. Club