It's Garry Shandling's Show is one of the first original programs created by the fledgling Showtime network in the mid-80's to compete with original HBO comedies like Not Necessarily the News. The show was pretty much about Garry Shandling's own life as a stand up comic and he frequently broke the fourth wall and directly addressed the audience. Although a critical and niche success it lasted about 70 episodes. The show was later picked up by Fox Broadcasting Company from 1988 to 1990, when Shandling ended the show. Showtime is a US cable TV network that primarily shows motion pictures as well as some original programming and occasional boxing matches. ... For alternate meanings of HBO, see HBO (disambiguation). ... Not Necessarily the News was a satirical sketch comedy series that ran on HBO from 1983 to 1990. ... Garry Shandling (born November 29, 1949) is a comedian. ... Richard Pryor hits the money line A stand-up comedian or stand-up comic is someone that performs in comedy clubs, usually reciting a fast paced succession of amusing stories, short jokes and one-liners, typically called a monologue. ... Specifically in a proscenium theater, the term fourth wall applies to the imaginary invisible wall at the front of the stage in a theater through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play. ... Generally, a niche is a special place within the scheme of things. ... The Fox Broadcasting Company, usually referred to as just Fox, is a television network in the United States. ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Slightly racier and self-effacing interpretation of several traditional comedy formats including sitcom and talk show, the program was the first to star stand-up comedian Garry Shandling. A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... A talk show (U.S.) or chat show (Brit. ... Garry Shandling (born November 29, 1949) is a comedian. ...

The show introduced much of the country to Shandling and paved the way for his more successful run as late-night talk show host Larry Sanders on HBO's The Larry Sanders Show. The Larry Sanders Show is the name of a satirical situation comedy television series that originally screened from 1992 to 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the USA. It starred former standup comedian Garry Shandling as the shows vain, self-obsessed, neurotic host, Larry Sanders. ...