If this wasn't one of the top 5 shows of the 90's then I'll be darned. I've just been watching it again on Crackle after all these years and am amazed at how fresh and entertaining it still is. What fantastic writing and acting. Jeffrey Tambor's portrayal of Hank Kingsley, Larry's sycophantic and emotionally fragile sidekick, is acting perfection. I read somewhere that most of the writers on this show were in their 20's, you certainly wouldn't think to watch it. The whole thing is perfectly cast, brilliantly directed and hilariously funny. And Rip Torn for chrissakes. Rip Torn! How could it possibly have failed? 

Maybe to much NYC?

sharke
 
How could it possibly have failed? 

Well, it had six seasons on HBO, which is a pretty good run.  I never liked Larry Sanders much as a straight-up comedian, so I didn't bother watching the first four seasons (or so - long time ago).  But I did start watching it near the end of the run, and you are absolutely right.  The writing was brilliant.  I think I need to add this to my Netflix queue (so I have yet another show that I don't have time to watch - but thanks for the reminder ... I guess).

Not sure if it's still on Netflix, shows come and go. I cancelled Netflix because I have Amazon Prime with the video streaming, but it's not on there. I found it on Crackle. 
 
Actually Gary Shandling (his real name) is a pretty good standup - it's not the usual style of comedy that I like but I still find him very funny. His laugh and his big cheesy smile are infectious, and he has a great delivery. I don't think I liked The Gary Shandling Show back then though. Maybe I'll give it another try. 
 

 
 

Man, one of my all-time favorite shows. Hank and Artie were tops, but there was a butt-ton of talent on there (Jeneane Garafolo pops to mind). 
 
I don't do a lot of comedy, but that's in there, along with Louie/Louis CK, late-stage Carlin, a few others. Oh yeah, and I loved Curb your Enthusiasm. Sinefeld was too sweet for me; Enthusiasm had the edge that I needed.

Allan Zweibel was a writer on this show.  He was on a podcast I listened to the other day.
 
It really was a ground breaking show for its time.

Well, this sucks.  I don't do Netflix streaming - just get DVDs sent.  Netflix has Season 1 and a "best of" package, but that's it.  There is a complete series for purchase on on Amazon.com for 90 bucks.  The full series comprises about 47 hours of content, so that's just about two bucks per hour, and not really a bad deal.  But I'm quite annoyed with Netflix on this one.

Years ago before Netflix I bought a Larry Sanders DVD thinking it was all of season 1, but it turned out to be a "best of" featuring select episodes. I later read that they'd had trouble releasing all episodes due to licensing complications to do with the footage of bands who appeared on the fictional talk show. I seem to remember that when I first saw it available to stream (perhaps on Hulu), there were episodes missing. They must have sorted that out now though because I'm sure I saw the whole thing on Netflix.

Darn greedy musicians.

sharke
I later read that they'd had trouble releasing all episodes due to licensing complications to do with the footage of bands who appeared on the fictional talk show.

Yeah, this is a recurring theme.  Shows made before the advent of mass-consumed DVD reissues did not have the foresight to secure long-term musical rights.  I read that Northern Exposure could only be reissued after they substituted new music for the original content.  The biggest crime is the non-availability of American Dreams.  Only season 1 ever saw the light of day on DVD.  That was, IMO, one of the finest TV dramas of all time.  For those of us of a certain age, it was also a glorious revisiting of the music of our younger years.