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Mar 12, 2023

‘The Larry Sanders Show’ was a sitcom that changed sitcoms

This story has been updated. In the 1990s, a new HBO series about an

This story has been updated.

In the 1990s, a new HBO series about an anxiety-riddled man fretting about his power and his rivals changed television forever. No, I’m not talking about Tony Soprano. Seven years before the mobster's first therapy session, Garry Shandling unveiled "The Larry Sanders Show," a half-hour comedy that took viewers inside celebrity culture and changed the trajectory of television sitcoms.

Shandling frequently guest-hosted on "The Tonight Show" and was offered NBC's 12:30 a.m. slot when David Letterman was preparing to leave "Late Night." Instead, the comedian went in another direction, creating a series centered on a fictional talk show, complete with a neurotic host — played by Shandling — and a dysfunctional workplace family. The show revealed the offstage drama behind the talk-show curtain and quite a bit about Shandling himself: By all accounts, Larry's flaws closely echoed those of his creator.

"Larry Sanders," which ended its six-year run 25 years ago on Wednesday, never achieved broad viewership, but it was an industry darling, garnering 56 Emmy nominations and two Peabody Awards. It was not the first half-hour comedy to ditch the laugh track and multiple cameras, but it was hugely influential, leaving its imprint on shows such as "Arrested Development," "The Office" and "Veep."

It inspired generations of writers, including Alex Gregory, who joined the staff in the final season. "Watching the show was like stumbling on Jimi Hendrix," Gregory says. "It completely changed the game of what was possible. They were mining something deeper about emotional truth. I can't overstate how seismic the impact of ‘Larry Sanders’ was on comedy writing."

Shandling and actor Rip Torn, who played Larry's aggressively loyal producer Artie, both died within the past decade, but 13 participants answered the call to share some highlights — and lowlights — of the show's six-year run. Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Jeffrey Tambor, actor (Larry's sidekick, Hank Kingsley): I was so amped up for the audition that I left my house about two hours early. In the scene, Larry tries to leave the room, and I moved an entire couch to stop him; I remember Garry glancing at the casting director, Francine Maisler. I knew that was a good thing.

I called him afterward and he was at the gym. I said I loved playing Hank and really wanted the part. Then I said, "I’ve never made a call like this." Garry responded, "But Hank would."

Penny Johnson Jerald, actor (Larry's assistant, Beverly Barnes): As we’re about to start my audition, the phone rings. And rings. I said, "I’m sorry, are you going to answer that?" Garry said no. The phone stops, so I begin. But it rings again, so I answer it. "Hello, Garry Shandling's office. How can I help you? This is my audition."

The person asked if Garry was available, and I said no. When I hung up, Garry said never mind to the audition. I thought I blew it, but when I got home, my agent was on the phone, saying, "Whatever you did in that room, they loved it."

Scott Thompson, actor (Brian, Hank's assistant, Seasons 4-6): There was no audition. Garry was a fan of "Kids in the Hall" and had probably seen me on "Conan." He wanted the character to be gay. I said, "Then I have a trade: My character also has to be Canadian." [Thompson is both gay and Canadian.]

Garry said: "That's a bit too much. Nobody's going to buy that, a Canadian character on television in America."

Todd Holland, director (51 episodes): I showed up while they’re shooting, but [director] Ken Kwapis had a home invasion and had to leave. I sit in the fake conference room, and Garry is interviewing me as he comes and goes.

Then they want to pick up one cutaway shot where Jeremy Piven is having sex in a parking lot. It's shot out of the building window, so we’re in the stairwell with the cameraman. I’m still having the job interview, but Garry keeps asking me, "Is that funny?"

I finally said: "No. You can see her face, so you’re emotionally engaged with her and don't want to laugh. You feel bad. You need to have his ass in the air." And they did that. Then we walk away, but Garry never said cut, leaving Jeremy Piven with his pants down in the parking lot of a studio.

Alex Gregory, writer (final season): We were working at the "Late Show With David Letterman." We got a meeting with Garry and were told to talk to Judd Apatow beforehand; he said: "Don't show fear. The thing stand-up comics hate most is what they hate most about themselves, which for Garry is fear."

Then Judd said: "When you arrive at Garry's house, there’ll be a famous person. You’ll have to wait while they talk. And at some point, Garry will take a phone call and may even talk about you on the call."

When we get there, an assistant says, "Go in the kitchen and make yourself at home." We’re just standing there, not touching anything, for 10 minutes.

Peter Huyck, writer (final season): Garry comes in, looks us up and down and says, "Sorry guys, it's not going to work." And left.

Gregory: Then he came back in and laughed. We go to the backyard, and David Duchovny is sitting there, and we have to wait. And then Garry took a call and talked about us. Just as Judd predicted.

Judd Apatow, writer/co-executive producer: I learned everything from Garry. In the writers room, he’d say: "Don't write the joke. Write what you would actually say back to someone."

He talked about people presenting themselves to the world in a way that's not the truth of who they are; he wanted to get to the core of people and was interested in the ways people's egos prevent them from being close and loving each other. I hadn't heard of any of that before.

Tambor: Garry would go past a joke for something richer and deeper. He cared a lot about acting and about character and truth. Then he’d get a deeper laugh.

Holland: If something didn't make emotional sense, the whole process would stop and we’d talk it through and ship it back to the writers. I learned you don't start with funny; you start with truth.

Mary Lynn Rajskub, actor (Marylou, talent booker, Seasons 5 and 6): I was all instinct over skill or technique and was running on my own set of anxieties and social ineptitude. But one day, Garry stopped in the middle of a take and asked, "What are you thinking?"

I said: "Uhhhhh. What do you mean?"

He wanted to know what my character was thinking in the moment and caught me not knowing. I got a crash course in subtext. It changed everything. From that moment, I knew the foundation of building a character.

Thompson: I was very performative. Garry said: "You don't have to step on certain words to make it funny or take on the rhythm of the comedian. Don't try to be funny. Just make the lines make sense to you."

Ken Kwapis, director (pilot and 11 other episodes): When we were prepping the show, Garry asked me to figure out a way to shoot scenes where the cast didn't know when the cameras were rolling. I decided not to use a slate or have someone say, "We’re rolling." And instead of barking "action," I’d casually say to Garry, "Go ahead." Sometimes he’d begin the dialogue, but sometimes he’d chat more and then launch into the first line of the scene. It had a wonderful effect on the set's vibe and helped the performance quality. I’ve never said "action" since then, and I’m very grateful to Garry for inspiring that.

Bob Odenkirk, actor (Larry's agent, Stevie Grant, Seasons 2-6): Garry didn't seem able to ever live up to his hopes, and he drilled so hard down on every moment. Sometimes that made me feel bad for him. As much as I respect keeping one's standards high, I know there can be diminishing returns to perfectionism if you don't allow a modicum of acceptance and flow in your pursuit.

Apatow: Garry's philosophy was about trying not to take things so seriously, treating people well and not letting your ego drive your life. But those were the things he really struggled with. Garry was satirizing issues that he had.

If a show was coming out badly, his ego was threatened, and he got very upset. He was not an evolved person in how he dealt with conflict and the challenges of collaboration. The irony of the entire endeavor is those same issues made for funny scenes for Larry.

People worked really hard, and a lot did amazing work for a long time and left feeling unappreciated. I felt sad when they left with a bad feeling, and I felt for Garry, because I could see how much pain he was in. After the show ended, he was much sweeter and more open.

Holland: Garry was a complicated man. He was very reluctant to commit to anything. Nobody could exceed Garry's capacity to avoid. As an actor, his instincts were spot-on, but his intellect would screw it all up. I wish I’d known some of what I learned at his memorial, because it would have made me more empathetic toward all his crazy.

Gregory: He revered actors, but he burned through writers quickly, because writing was so easy for him, so he thought, "They just don't get it."

Huyck: He loved being a mentor. He saw Alex and me as enthusiastic and green. He really looked out for us. He brought us into the casting and postproduction and editing and taught us how to speak to actors.

Rajskub: I remember reading a script and not understanding why it was funny until I sat at the table read and saw how deeply connected the humor was to the characters. It was the character and context that added another layer to the comedy. This was the opposite of hacky sitcoms, where jokes are shoehorned in.

Apatow: After the table read, they’d rehearse the show on its feet for two days. There’d be a run-through where the writers got to watch, and that's where a lot of the changes happened. The actors would improvise a bit more, and we would take notes and do a revision with Garry. Then we’d shoot 17 pages a day for two days. It was crazy. And we were shooting a talk show. And when guests would change, there’d be lots of scrambling to rewrite. It was a massive amount of work.

Megan Gallagher, actor (Jeannie Sanders, Larry's wife, Season 1): Garry encouraged everybody to go for it if something popped into your head. He made it really fun. During the party at our house, my character gets smashed and says to Hank, "Instead of, ‘Hey Now,’ what about, ‘Come here.’" I’m pretty sure I made that up.

Holland: This was a fly-on-the-wall show, so the camera has no sentience; you’re literally pointing and shooting. We had no Steadicam. Our cinematographer Peter Smokler was a roller blader, so we started pulling him around on roller blades for Steadicam shots.

It was the cheapest show on television. I used to bring lamps and artwork from home. Often for a restaurant we just used the patio at Garry's house. The sets were built to last one year and had to last six.

On the set, Garry, Rip and Jeffrey would just talk and talk. So I would yell, "We’re going back to one and we’re not cutting." And they’d run back to their spots, because they knew film was burning and it was expensive. Then I’d yell "action" before they could think, which was the biggest gift I could give Garry, because otherwise he’d get so deep in his head.

Kwapis: When Garry was on "The Tonight Show" right before Johnny Carson left, I stood backstage and took notes about how people behaved and moved around, because Garry wanted his show to feel accurate in all details. Watching Fred de Cordova, Johnny's producer, keep his eye on Johnny and the monitor gave me the idea about how to position Artie.

Tambor: The opening, where I talk about the sign that says "applesauce," was a demonstration and was meant to be temporary. I was going to someone to get help about how to introduce the show. But we never changed it through six years.

Peter Tolan, writer and executive producer: We couldn't get anyone to come on the show at first. Nobody wanted to be first. But when Carol Burnett came on, that opened the floodgates.

Johnson Jerald: When Alec Baldwin came on the show, all of us girls went crazy, and we said: "Please write a scene with us. We just want to be in his presence."

Janeane Garofalo, actor (Paula, talent booker, Seasons 1-5): Watching scenes with Catherine O’Hara, Tim Conway and Elvis Costello was a thrill and blew my mind. Getting to meet Carol Burnett was a dream. Plus, I didn't have to say, "Sorry to bother you," because for that moment, you’re a peer.

Thompson: Elvis Costello was one of the best days ever. He was funny, and he gave us a performance. Hanging out with Don Rickles is something I’ll never get over. To have him call me a hockey puck was one of the great moments of my life.

Tolan: I mostly remember the people who misbehaved. Burt Reynolds played Larry's neighbor and he's on the other side of a brick wall. He may have been drinking.

He says, "What am I doing here?" He starts throwing dirt over the wall onto Garry, who has no clue this is going to happen. Reynolds just flipped out, had a meltdown beyond anything I’ve ever seen, he was scrabbling at the fake brick wall, tearing pieces off and throwing them at the crew.

I’m standing next to Rip, and when Burt storms off the set, Rip says, "Burt's a troubled boy." I said, "Excuse me, I think that's the pot calling the kettle black."

No one wanted to go get him. Line producer John Ziffren went up and Burt is in a chair in the middle of the room with his head in his hands. He says, "I was the number-one box office star from 1972 to 1976." That's just sad, man. And that's show business. You’re a king and now you’re guesting behind a brick wall.

Tolan: This was adult storytelling. You didn't have to spell everything out and could meander a little bit. We weren't doing a mockumentary, but we wanted a documentary feel to it; you felt like you’re catching things you’re not meant to catch.

Gallagher: The show was the gift that keeps on giving. Everyone in the industry were such huge "Larry Sanders" fans. Chris Carter had me in mind for "Millennium" when they were writing it. When we had a meeting, I asked if they had questions, and he asked, "Why would you sleep with Hank?"

Garofalo: Being on the show gave me this cachet that I hadn't earned in many ways. People would say, "Let's see her for this part." Those things are fleeting unless you are a hard worker, which I am not. I squandered a lot of opportunities.

Odenkirk: "Larry Sanders" allowed me to play a lower-key presence, to work in a closer camera angle than comedy usually does, to work with the tension of human thinking, pauses and reaction that felt more organic to me. It certainly led to my comfort playing Saul one day.

Tambor: I still get, "Hey now," from people. I got a, "Hey now," this week.

Tolan: Inside the business, everybody watched it. People seek me out to tell me how much influence the show had. They say, "I’m stealing from your show."

Huyck: We just sold a show with Seth Rogen that's "in the style of ‘Larry Sanders,’" so it's still the show you reference 25 years later.