The Larry Sanders Show 

A comedic behind the scenes look at a late night talk show.

Creators:

Dennis Klein, Garry Shandling

Stars:

Garry Shandling, Jeffrey Tambor, Wallace Langham

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 46 wins & 135 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Garry Shandling	...	Larry Sanders 89 episodes, 1992-1998
Jeffrey Tambor	...	Hank Kingsley 89 episodes, 1992-1998
Wallace Langham	...	Phil 89 episodes, 1992-1998
Rip Torn	...	Arthur 89 episodes, 1992-1998
Penny Johnson Jerald	...	Beverly Barnes 82 episodes, 1992-1998
Janeane Garofalo	...	Paula 52 episodes, 1992-1997
Linda Doucett	...	Darlene Chapinni 45 episodes, 1992-1998

Storyline

HBO television sitcom about Larry Sanders, a talk-show host. This show goes 'behind-the-scenes' to reveal Larry's humorous interactions with the producers and guests.

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Plot Keywords:

character name as series title | four word series title | behind the scenes | producer | sitcom | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 August 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

El show de Larry Sanders

Filming Locations:

CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, Columbia Pictures Television, Home Box Office (HBO)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min (89 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Duchovny's appearances on the show focused on his attraction to Larry. This is a joke that has outlived the Sanders show itself, resurfacing, among other places, on The X-Files (1993) (in the episode "Hollywood A.D." Garry Shandling, appears as himself, Scully (Gillian Anderson) comments to Mulder (David Duchovny) "I think that Téa Leoni has a little crush on you...I think that Shandling likes you a bit too."), and in a skit filmed for The 56th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2004).

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Quotes

Hank Kingsley: I mean Larry is a wonderful guy, he's kind, funny, rich - my god he's the boss. I'd date him if I could.

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Connections

Featured in America in Primetime: The Misfit (2011)

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Soundtracks

Love Guarantee
Written by Diana Williamson and Frank Fitzpatrick
Performed by Diana Williamson

User Reviews

Hilarious talk show satire.

Larry Sanders has a broad range of humor. When on camera, the humor comes from how unfunny these characters actually are in front of the camera and how funny the audience finds it. Anyone who watches late night talk shows can relate to the "mock show" portion of each show. The behind the scenes, which makes up most of each episode relies on the situations as well as the dialogue which is usually very funny and well written, like something that would actually be said.

The characters were all very different and well written. Larry Sanders, played subtly and brilliantly by Gary Shandling. Larry is always smiling, whether he's happy or not. He's self centered, but not too much of a jerk. His manager Artie (Rip Torn) is more over the top rude and loud, but he's not an unbelievable character. Then there's Hank (Jeffrey Tambor) who plays second banana to Larry and the talk show, but on this show, often steals the episodes, taking many of the main plot lines, and he is hilarious as the alternate universe Ed MacMahon. Along with these three, there are many other less important characters, all very funny.

Overall, Larry Sanders was usually hysterical, but when not, it was still one of the most brilliant shows on television.