When was the modern sitcom born? It’s often said that American TV drama came of age in 1999, when The Sopranos debuted on cable channel HBO, freeing it from the play-it-safe formulas of the networks. Sketch shows were transformed by Monty Python in the late Sixties/early Seventies and have never looked back. But when was the sitcom’s great renaissance? When was it decided that cutting-edge comedy ought to do away with studio audiences, broad one-note characters and zany, implausible plots? To this end, lots of people cite The Office (2001-03) or Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000 onwards). Both left an indelible mark on the medium. But eight years before either of these shows, there was another series, one that changed the genre for good. This was The Larry Sanders Show.
Larry Sanders debuted on HBO on 15 August 1992, 30 years ago today. Created by writer-producer Dennis Klein and the comedian Garry Shandling, the series focused on a fictional late-night talk show, modelled closely on Johnny Carson’s hugely popular chat series The Tonight Show. After gaining prominence as a stand-up comic, Shandling had previously established himself in TV with It’s Garry Shandling’s Show (1986-90), an experimental multi-camera sitcom for Showtime that deconstructed the format with constant fourth-wall breaks and meta jokes. Having subbed in for an absent Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show a handful of times, Shandling decided his next project would be Larry Sanders, an insider’s showbiz satire lampooning fame and the world of television. Shandling himself played the show’s vain but droll host Larry (once memorably described as “a talk show animal… like one of those goddamn creatures out of Greek mythology: half man, half desk”). Jeffrey Tambor played his bathetic, less talented sidekick Hank Kingsley. Rounding out the central trio was Rip Torn, who played the show’s bullish producer, Artie.
