When Garry Shandling got back together with fellow cast members from his groundbreaking HBO comedy series The Larry Sanders Show for EW’s Reunions issue (on stands now), it was more than just your typical reunion. “People always talk about the cast of a series being like family—that isn’t what this group is like,” says Shandling, who was reunited with co-stars Rip Torn, Jeffrey Tambor, Sarah Silverman, Penny Johnson Jerald, Wallace Langham, and Mary Lynn Rajskub. “We’re somehow even closer than that. This was more like a group therapy reunion.”

Then again, Larry Sanders went deeper than your typical TV comedy. When it debuted in 1992, the show — a warts-and-all look at a narcissistic late-night talk show host (played by Shandling) and the often petty, narcissistic people around him — was unlike any other comedy on television: more raw, more real, and waaaay more awkward. Twenty years later, the fingerprints of Larry Sanders can be seen all over the TV landscape, from The Office to Modern Family to 30 Rock to Parks and Recreation and beyond. Here, Shandling shares some thoughts about the show’s creation, its comedy style, and its creative influence. Then scroll down for behind-the-scenes video from EW’s Larry Sanders reunion photo shoot. Hey now! READ FULL STORY »