SubscribeEmmy TV rerun: 'Larry Sanders' was the first cable series nominated for best comedy or drama
Considering that "Mad Men" and "Damages" made Emmy history this year by becoming the first basic-cable TV shows ever nominated for best series (comedy or drama), let's take a look back at what happened the first time any cable series pulled this off.
It was 1993 when HBO's "The Larry Sanders Show" nabbed eight nominations, including one for best comedy series. It was pitted against the previous year's winner, "Murphy Brown," "Cheers," "Home Improvement" and "Seinfeld."
"The Larry Sanders Show" was a bizarre expose of late-night TV talk shows that didn't bother with such niceties as heroic characters. Sanders, played by Garry Shandling, was a egotistical, neurotic jerk. And the TV series didn't bother with using the typical sitcom format either. Stories were told with awkward realism (similar to "The Office" today) and absurdist twists.
"The Larry Sanders Show" was so weird that, frankly, it wasn't a serious chance to win best comedy series in 1993. That Emmy battle seemed to be between "Cheers" and "Seinfeld."
"Cheers" was considered the sentimental fave because it was a longtime Emmy darling that just left the airwaves four months earlier. Ninety-three million Americans had tuned in to watch the final episode that aired in May. "Cheers" had won 26 Emmys since it premiered in 1982, so it needed to convert four of its eight nominations to beat "The Mary Tyler Moore Show's" record for having the most Emmys (29).
But when sizing up the race for best comedy, "Cheers" co-creator James Burrows admitted, "The show to beat this year is 'Seinfeld.' "
"Seinfeld" had been nominated the previous year and lost to "Murphy Brown." Indeed, it had been on TV since 1990, but its fan base built slowly. Finally, by 1993, it peaked and "Seinfeld" entered the 1993 Emmys with the most nominations (11).
And the winner was . . . "Seinfeld." Accepting the trophy, Jerry Seinfeld thanked "my partner and the greatest comedy writer in the world, Larry David."
Larry David won the Emmy for best comedy writing for his notorious episode about masturbation titled "The Contest." It beat two episodes of "The Larry Sanders Show" (pilot and "The Spider Episode"). Upon winning, Larry David gave one of the most memorable Emmy acceptances ever: "This is all very well and good, but I'm still bald."
"Seinfeld" also won an Emmy for Michael Richards as best supporting actor.
"Cheers" ended up winning only two trophies: multi-camera editing and best actor (Ted Danson), thus failing to surpass "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" record. Final score: "MTM Show" 29, "Cheers" 28.
"The Larry Sanders Show" lost all eight bids — and that was just the start of its embarrassing Emmy losing streak. The next year, 1994, it lost all four noms. In 1995, it lost all six bids. In 1996, it finally won its first Emmy — for Rip Torn as best supporting actor — but it lost 11 other races. Then in 1997, it suffered its worst defeat ever. With 16 snubs, it tied the record held by "Northern Exposure" as suffering the biggest shutout in Emmy history, a record that stands. Curiously, "Northern Exposure" suffered that humiliation the same year that "The Larry Sanders Show" entered the Emmy derby (1993).
Finally, in 1998, at the end of its final season, "The Larry Sanders Show" won two Emmys: directing and writing. But it lost eight more bids that year.
(Photo: HBO)
