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 as one of the best TV comedies of the 1990s. The series ranked #38 on
TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, the only HBO comedy to make the list. It was also included in
Time magazine's list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All Time."
[www.time.com/time/specials/2007/completelist/0,,1651341,00.html]