By CIAN McKEOWN
Nowadays, through streaming and a dozen different networks, we are inundated with a myriad of innovative, fresh, and funny situational comedy shows. But over thirty years ago, the television landscape was much different. The sitcom market was dominated by samey, eighties-style canned laughter shows like Cheers, Coach, Home Improvement, and Full House. Cable television was still a relatively new medium at that point, and networks like HBO and Showtime mostly aired prestige dramas and movies that could not be shown on regular network TV. Then came Garry Shandling. A standup comic and veteran comedy writer, Shandling’s first foray into a sitcom of his own came in 1986 with the innovative It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, which ran for four seasons on Showtime. In 1992, Shandling and writing partner Dennis Klein created the most groundbreaking sitcom ever made.
Drawing on his experiences guest hosting The Tonight Show, Shandling and Klein created an acerbic, dark, and utterly hilarious take on a workplace sitcom, framing The Larry Sanders Show as a behind-the-scenes look at the production and day-to-day headaches of producing a late-night talk show. With an all-star cast that included future Arrested Development star Jeffery Tambor as Shandling’s dimwitted sidekick “Hey now” Hank Kingsley and a ridiculous roster of guest stars, the show remains a comedy writing masterclass and cult classic to this day.
Awkward and cringy humor mixed with absurdity defined the show’s comedic style and its influence can be felt on everything from The Office to It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. The show also started the career of young writer Judd Apatow, who went on to direct 21st-century comedy classics like Superbad and Bridesmaids. The Larry Sanders Show is a quintessential sitcom that rarely comes up in greatest-ever conversations as it should, and its entire six-season run is available to stream on MAX if you want to see what I mean.
Featured Image: IMDb
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