The American sitcom television series The Larry Sanders Show, starring Garry Shandling, premiered on HBO on August 15, 1992, and aired its series finale on May 31, 1998. Six seasons and 90 episodes were filmed in total. The complete series is available on Region 1 DVD, released by Shout Factory, and seasons 1 and 2 are available on Region 2, released by Sony/Mediumrare. Various compilations are also available worldwide.
Shortly after Garry Shandling's death, HBO announced it had earlier completed a deal with Shandling to make the series available on their streaming services.[1]
This list is ordered by the episodes' original air dates.
The network presses Larry to do commercials for the Garden Weasel during his show. He initially refuses but later relents when his budget is threatened. When he tries to inject humor into the spots or rope Hank into doing them together, the higher-ups are furious but Artie tells them that from now on, they won't be interacting with Larry but him instead. The show's guest is Robert Hays.
2
2
"The Promise"
Ken Kwapis
Joe Toplyn
August 22, 1992 (1992-08-22)
105
Larry is unhappy that David Spade is appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno after Larry has used his show to promote his career, plus he uses the same material that he told Larry he was going to use. Larry asks his colleagues if he did the right thing by kicking him off the show and goes back and forth depending on whose advice he hears, finally relenting and letting the comedian do his set after another guest cancels at the last minute. Guests include Dana Delany, William Shatner, and David Spade.
Larry has a "bug man" scheduled for his show but his arachnophobia makes it tense and this tension also plays out in his married life. He gets Artie to trick Hank into agreeing to it but both of them get cold feet on camera and end up ruining the sketch, embarrassing his guests, and killing $75,000 of spiders. Guests include Carol Burnett, Steve Duchesne, Steven R. Kutcher, and Jon Lovitz.
Larry takes a week-long vacation and taps Dana Carvey to guest host the show. Hank is upset and wants his own shot at guest hosting. Larry also gets jealous when his wife shows how much she admires Carvey. CBS offers Carvey his own late night show and this infuriates Larry who feels it's a betrayal of their friendship. Guests include Dana Carvey and Hervé Villechaize.
Larry has to choose the host of a new late-night talk show, while Hank goes nuts trying to find the prankster who left a lewd remark on his fan newsletter. Guests include David Letterman.
21
8
"Artie's Gone"
Todd Holland
Paul Simms
July 14, 1993 (1993-07-14)
206
Arthur gets himself stuck on the road and asks Paula to produce the show in his absence, but Larry isn't informed.
A shake-up within the writing staff interrupts preparations for Larry's surprise birthday party, while Sugar Ray Leonard appears as a guest on the show.
Larry tries to comprehend Francine's independence, while Hank feels threatened by the new bandleader. Gary Kemp (of Spandau Ballet) appears as the substitute bandleader, while Talia Balsam plays Francine’s sister.
27
14
"The Performance Artist"
Ken Kwapis
Chris Thompson and John Riggi & Drake Sather
August 25, 1993 (1993-08-25)
215
The performance of an avant-garde artist causes trouble for Larry.
28
15
"Hank's Wedding"
Ken Kwapis
Molly Newman & Judd Apatow & Maya Forbes
September 8, 1993 (1993-09-08)
214
Hank decides to get married on the show.
29
16
"Off Camera"
Ken Kwapis
Peter Tolan
September 15, 1993 (1993-09-15)
216
A magazine writer gets a look behind the scenes of The Larry Sanders Show.
Larry's last week on the show is affected by a sexual harassment suit issued by Brian against Phil for his gay jokes.
89
11
"Flip"
Todd Holland
Peter Tolan & Garry Shandling
May 31, 1998 (1998-05-31)
611
90
12
612
In the series finale, Larry Sanders tapes his last show over his '10-year run', headlined by guests Jim Carrey, Jerry Seinfeld, Tim Allen, Ellen DeGeneres, Carol Burnett, Sean Penn, Clint Black. This show was 1 hour long instead of the usual 30 minutes.
