Editing The Larry Sanders Show (section)

=== Influence ===
Despite drawing small audiences, ''The Larry Sanders Show'' has been influential.<ref name=timeout1>{{cite web|url=https://www.timeout.com/los-angeles/film/not-just-the-best-of-the-larry-sanders-show|title=Not Just the Best of The Larry Sanders Show|work=Time Out Los Angeles |date=19 April 2007 |access-date=25 April 2013|archive-date=15 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115011739/https://www.timeout.com/los-angeles/film/not-just-the-best-of-the-larry-sanders-show|url-status=live |last1=Seitz |first1=Matt Zoller }}</ref> It helped establish HBO's reputation for quality shows, leading to ''[[Sex and the City]]'', ''The Sopranos'', ''[[The Wire]]'' and ''Deadwood''.<ref name=guardian1>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/mar/19/larry-sanders-show-box-set|title=Your next box set: The Larry Sanders Show|access-date=25 April 2013|location=London|work=The Guardian|first=Andrew|last=Pulver|date=19 March 2010|archive-date=15 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115011719/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/mar/19/larry-sanders-show-box-set|url-status=live}}</ref> The show influenced subsequent series with satirical backstage show business and celebrity culture themes, such as ''30 Rock'', ''[[Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List]]'', ''[[The Showbiz Show with David Spade]]'',  ''[[Extras (TV series)|Extras]]'', ''[[Action (TV series)|Action]]'', and ''[[Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip]]''.<ref name="EdgertonJones2008" />

The show's most significant innovation is in celebrities playing themselves.<ref name=guardian1 /> It was followed in its use of celebrity guests, its lack of [[laugh track]], and its comedy of embarrassment by ''[[Curb Your Enthusiasm]]'', ''[[The Office (British TV series)|The Office]]'' and ''[[Arrested Development]]''.<ref name=timeout1 /><ref name=guardian1 /> Shandling's performance is a precursor to [[Larry David]]'s in ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' and [[Ricky Gervais]] (''The Office'', ''Extras'') as [[David Brent]].<ref name="rolling">{{cite web| url=http://www.rollingstoneme.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=250|title=Rewind: The Larry Sanders Show|access-date=25 April 2013}}</ref> Gervais said in ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' that he was heavily influenced by the show and that "It taught me that flawed characters can be compulsive viewing&nbsp;– seeing them squirm and get their comeuppance."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2010/tv/news/gervais-glad-to-be-part-of-the-hbo-family-1118026464/|title=Gervais glad to be part of the HBO family|access-date=25 April 2013|work=Variety|archive-date=15 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115011735/https://variety.com/2010/tv/news/gervais-glad-to-be-part-of-the-hbo-family-1118026464/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Armando Iannucci]] said that his political satire ''[[The Thick of It]]'' strove to mix comedy and authenticity in a similar manner to ''The Larry Sanders Show''.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2005/12_december/08/thick_armando.shtml| title=The Thick Of It| work=BBC| date=8 December 2005| access-date=22 August 2015| archive-date=15 November 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115011720/http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2005/12_december/08/thick_armando.shtml| url-status=live}}</ref>

Matt Zoller Seitz wrote in ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out Los Angeles]]'' that it introduced to television the cinematic technique of "[[walk and talk]]" where the camera follows the actors as they move around the offices in conversation. This later became an important part of the style of ''[[The West Wing]]'' and ''[[ER (TV series)|ER]]''.<ref name="timeout1" /> The show can also be seen as a distorted example of [[reality television]] because the portrayal of the talk show production is so convincing.<ref name="washpost" /> According to Andrew Pulver in ''[[The Guardian]]'', "This is where it all began. The whole postmodernist, self-reflexive fact-fiction sitcom thing."<ref name=guardian1 />