The Larry Sanders Show: Season 4

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 17 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 65 Ratings

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4.8

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4.8	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 65 Ratings

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The Larry Sanders Show

Now Playing: The Larry Sanders Show

Season Details & Credits

HBO | Season Premiere Date: July 19, 1995

Starring: Wallace Langham, Garry Shandling, Penny Johnson Jerald

Summary: Comic Garry Shandling draws upon his own talk show experiences to create the character of Larry Sanders, a paranoid, insecure host of a late night talk show. Larry, along with his obsequious TV sidekick Hank Kingsley and his fiercely protective producer Artie, allows Garry Shandling and his talented writers to look behind the scenes and toComic Garry Shandling draws upon his own talk show experiences to create the character of Larry Sanders, a paranoid, insecure host of a late night talk show. Larry, along with his obsequious TV sidekick Hank Kingsley and his fiercely protective producer Artie, allows Garry Shandling and his talented writers to look behind the scenes and to show us a convincing slice of behind the camera life.… Expand

Genre(s): Comedy, Talk & Interview

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Season 4 Episodes

tbd
S4:E17. Larry's on Vacation
Air Date: November 22, 1995
tbd
S4:E16. Eight
Air Date: November 15, 1995
tbd
S4:E15. 0.409
Air Date: November 8, 1995

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Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

Lon Grahnke

Jul 17, 2013

It's mean. It's nasty. It's dirty. It's sick. It's addictive. It's "The Larry Sanders Show," the funniest comedy series on television. [19 Jul 1995]

100

David Bianculli

Jul 17, 2013

Hasn't lost one whit of its wit between seasons. [19 Jul 1995]

100

Jul 17, 2013

Bitterly, brutally, blatantly hilarious. [19 Jul 1995]

100

Michael Blowen

Jul 17, 2013

"The Larry Sanders Show" brilliantly exploits the medium as it mocks it. [19 Jul 1995]

100

Lee Winfrey

Jul 17, 2013

The sharpness of the writing and the crispness of the acting demonstrate that cable's best situation comedy has lost none of its bite as it begins its fourth season. [19 Jul 1995]

100

Howard Rosenberg

Jul 17, 2013

The globe's smartest, funniest, greatest comedy series. [19 Jul 1995]

John J. O'Connor

Jul 17, 2013

As cheerfully goofy and bizarrely on target as ever. [19 Jul 1995]

SEE ALL 17 REVIEWS

User Score

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4.8

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User Reviews

MADiSciullo

Nov 10, 2021

Second-funniest show on American television in 1995 after The Simpsons. THIS is the one HBO comedy that stands with their classic dramas.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

SeanSmithSounds

Jan 9, 2014

The Larry Sanders Show contains some of the most witty moments in television history. Studded with exceptional cameos and performances, one can find true humor in almost every turn during every episode.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

zairthebear

Oct 8, 2015

This show induced many emotions in my heart, ranging from love, sympathy and dissapointmnt. Death to this show. The show is boring, convoluted and downright bad.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

TNF1343

Apr 17, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Uh... what's with this low user score? I've been surprised at the user ratings for the other Seasons but this is shocking. I don't see how anyone could hate this Season this much, so like dancingmind, I can only possibly imagine that it's from people who never watched this show and hate how the critics rated it so highly.

Nevertheless, Season 4 of The Larry Sanders Show maintains the quality that we're used to at this point. There's no reboot in store, nor does there need to be. Maybe I stress this too much but this show benefits a ton from being under 20 episodes per Season. Writing 20+ strong episodes per year is a monstrous task that only few creative teams do. With the shorter Seasons, The Larry Sanders Show remains quick and witty, rarely losing its footing.

I say rarely because this Season had probably the weirdest Larry Sanders episode yet. "Beverly and the Prop Job" tells of racism in showbiz... I guess. Between Beverly's odd behaviour and everyone else's general lack of racist attitudes, I'm struggling to find the point of it. And I don't really get Larry's refusal to fire Clyde. I was pretty puzzled after this episode; it did have its moments however.

Other than that, this Season kills it once again with its humour and guest stars. The first of which is Dana Carvey, who appeared as Larry's guest in the first Season. This time, his Saturday Night Live skit ticks off Larry and he tries to hide it. It was super amusing seeing Larry trying his best to not appear to be insulted when he clearly was. Garry Shandling can really nail the character's bumbling speech patterns when he's lying through his teeth. Sometimes it's hard to remember that this is fiction. Otherwise, this episode (called "Hank's New Assistant") saw Scott Thompson settle in to the main cast with ease as Hank's gay assistant, Brian. And, oh boy, was Hank's a-hole meter on here. His constant use of terms like "a gay" and his blatant homophobia reminds us that people are actually like that and how funny it is to laugh at the disdain and misconceptions they hold on to. It's great how we aren't supposed to laugh at Brian, but the erratic behaviour Hank has around him. Though, I'm not sure whether or not I'll miss Darlene in the final two Seasons.

Let's talk more about Hank, shall we? I can't stress enough how outstandingly he is portrayed by Jeffrey Tambor. His brand of prejudice, naivety, and ignorance make us unsure whether or not we should sympathize or hate him. I really got a kick how in "Roseanne's Return", he believes O.J. is innocent because he was nice to him. Evidence be damned. And Phil's argumentative points were awesome.

Of course, lest we forget "Hank's Sex Tape". This is probably the greatest proof on how d*ck jokes can be funny. Plus, it's always entertaining seeing a character pay for their a-holery. Also, "Who'd you have to f*ck to get this?" was a perfect line to cap off the episode.

Artie too is given his chance to shine in "Arthur After Hours". Similar to last Season's Beverly episode, this one shows Artie's psychological health seeing Larry get all the credit for his work. Seeing him drunk with someone with limited English skills and becoming "best friends" with him are some of Rip Torn's best scenes in the show thus far.

Bob Odenkirk and Janeane Garofalo also worked great together in "Conflict of Interest". Their unhealthy relationship was one of the highlights of the Season. This episode even starts out with an amusingly awful song, features Jennifer Aniston, and the credits pop up at the perfect time. Garofalo was solid in the next episode as well, "I Was a Teenage Lesbian". The episode has a very loose fell to it, and I felt it worked fantastically.

Then, Chris Elliot guest stars, and I really loved how his creative vision couldn't be seen by the network. This isn't an inaccurate tale either. Creativity is too often stifled since the safeness of stagnation isn't there. Friends is a perfect thing to look at too, seeing how many similar shows popped up after its success. Bravo on the commentary that is still relevant today, writers.

Before "Beverly's Prop Job", this outstanding four episode stint is concluded with "Larry's Big Idea". Larry and Letterman copying each other is brilliant, and likely accurate in the business. Even more funny was the crew of The Larry Sanders Show unintentionally acting like the the stereotypes that Larry had laid out for them to play in the show.

This show so no signs of slowing down whatsoever. Season 4 of The Larry Sanders Show is as outstanding as ever. I feel bad for the people who haven't watched this show just to refute the critics' points on how amazing this satire is.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

dancingmind

Nov 16, 2013

I'm not sure what the low user score votes are about, but I'd suspect they are from people who have not seen the show.

The Larry Sanders show is some of the wittiest, smart comedy to ever grace the television. It was the upstart of Judd Apatow (with great writing/producing) as well someI'm not sure what the low user score votes are about, but I'd suspect they are from people who have not seen the show.

The Larry Sanders show is some of the wittiest, smart comedy to ever grace the television. It was the upstart of Judd Apatow (with great writing/producing) as well some of the best guest spots by celebrities portraying themselves. The Arty character is hilarious and the show is super engaging.

I recommend giving it a shot!… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

Seasons & Episodes

95

Series Overview
Season 6

99
- Season 6 Overview
  Air Date: March 15, 1998
Season 5

97
- Season 5 Overview
  Air Date: November 13, 1996
Season 4

99
- Season 4 Overview
  Air Date: July 19, 1995
- tbd
  S4:E17. Larry's on Vacation
  Air Date: November 22, 1995
- tbd
  S4:E16. Eight
  Air Date: November 15, 1995
- tbd
  S4:E15. 0.409
  Air Date: November 8, 1995
- tbd
  S4:E14. Beverly and the Prop Job
  Air Date: November 1, 1995
- tbd
  S4:E13. Larry's Big Idea
  Air Date: October 25, 1995
- tbd
  S4:E12. Larry's Sitcom
  Air Date: October 18, 1995
- tbd
  S4:E11. I Was a Teenage Lesbian
  Air Date: October 11, 1995
- tbd
  S4:E10. Conflict of Interest
  Air Date: September 27, 1995
- tbd
  S4:E9. Brother, Can You Spare 1.2 Million?
  Air Date: September 20, 1995
- tbd
  S4:E8. Nothing Personal
  Air Date: September 13, 1995
- tbd
  S4:E7. Hank's Sex Tape
  Air Date: August 30, 1995
- tbd
  S4:E6. The P.A.
  Air Date: August 23, 1995
- tbd
  S4:E5. Jeannie's Visit
  Air Date: August 16, 1995
- tbd
  S4:E4. The Bump
  Air Date: August 9, 1995
- tbd
  S4:E3. Arthur After Hours
  Air Date: August 2, 1995
- tbd
  S4:E2. Hank's New Assistant
  Air Date: July 26, 1995
- tbd
  S4:E1. Roseanne's Return
  Air Date: July 19, 1995
Season 3

93
- Season 3 Overview
  Air Date: June 22, 1994
Season 2

91
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: June 2, 1993
Season 1

91
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: August 15, 1992