Can't say if this will appeal to younger audiences or not without "getting" the full context. When Johnny Carson left the Tonight Show, the entire US late night TV world opened up and was quickly filled in by competing late-night talk show hosts. It was only a matter of time before it was satirized.
Thankfully, Shandling was the one that gave us Larry Sanders! This is a pitch-perfect satire of not only late-night talk shows, but television and the corporate world as well.
Often opening with Jeffrey Tambor has the buffoon Hank Kingsley warming up the audience pre-show, and then launching into the theme music and show itself. From the get-go, Hank's narration over the titles lets us know that we are going to see more than merely the talk show!
It then fragments its time between the slick on-air performances and the utterly chaotic backstage/office routines. It's like you smashed a sitcom about an office into a late-night talk show.
Rip Torn is fantastic as the Artie, the show's producer and Larry's proverbial keeper/confidant. He thoroughly inhabits that character.
Shandling is amazing as the neurotic, self-absorbed schmuck that worries way too much about everything, but somehow perfectly transforms once the curtain opens. He's believable to the point that you think he's not acting!
The rest of the cast rounds off nicely with their own character traits and routines that keep things fitting snuggly. The celebrity guests are also a hoot; often performing fictionalized versions of themselves that can end up being demeaning as heck!
Almost every episode contains more than one side-splitting moment of truly perfect biting satire. Usually a handful of guffaws and slapstick that are so perfectly timed that I'm left in awe of the writers as much as the performers.
Rewatching in 2023, I'm amazed at how much this has held up. Sure, it's about showbiz, but it also is about our culture and even us specifically. Some of the 90s-centric gags and music might not hold up today, but the overall effect remains bleeding edge pure.
Thankfully, Shandling was the one that gave us Larry Sanders! This is a pitch-perfect satire of not only late-night talk shows, but television and the corporate world as well.
Often opening with Jeffrey Tambor has the buffoon Hank Kingsley warming up the audience pre-show, and then launching into the theme music and show itself. From the get-go, Hank's narration over the titles lets us know that we are going to see more than merely the talk show!
It then fragments its time between the slick on-air performances and the utterly chaotic backstage/office routines. It's like you smashed a sitcom about an office into a late-night talk show.
Rip Torn is fantastic as the Artie, the show's producer and Larry's proverbial keeper/confidant. He thoroughly inhabits that character.
Shandling is amazing as the neurotic, self-absorbed schmuck that worries way too much about everything, but somehow perfectly transforms once the curtain opens. He's believable to the point that you think he's not acting!
The rest of the cast rounds off nicely with their own character traits and routines that keep things fitting snuggly. The celebrity guests are also a hoot; often performing fictionalized versions of themselves that can end up being demeaning as heck!
Almost every episode contains more than one side-splitting moment of truly perfect biting satire. Usually a handful of guffaws and slapstick that are so perfectly timed that I'm left in awe of the writers as much as the performers.
Rewatching in 2023, I'm amazed at how much this has held up. Sure, it's about showbiz, but it also is about our culture and even us specifically. Some of the 90s-centric gags and music might not hold up today, but the overall effect remains bleeding edge pure.