The Larry Sanders Show in its use of celebrity guests, its lack of laugh track, and its comedy of embarrassment by "Curb Your Enthusiasm", "The Office" and "Arrested Development". Shandling's performance is a precursor to Larry David's in "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and Ricky Gervais ("The Office", "Extras") as David Brent. Gervais said in "Variety" that he was heavily influenced by the show and that "It taught me that flawed characters can be compulsive viewing — seeing them squirm and get their comeuppance." Armando Iannucci said that his political satire "The Thick of It" strove to mix comedy and authenticity in a similar manner to
Larry David on the NBC series "The Marriage Ref" and also played Sister Mary-Mengele in the 2012 reboot of "The Three Stooges". David co-wrote and starred in the 2013 HBO television film "Clear History". David wrote and starred in the Broadway play "Fish In The Dark". Also appearing were Rita Wilson, Jayne Houdyshell and Rosie Perez. The play centers on the death of a family patriarch. It opened March 5, 2015. Jason Alexander took over David's role in July. The play closed in August. As of February 1, 2015, its advance sale of $13.5 million had broken records for a Broadway show.