The finale was written by Shandling and Tolan. It was directed by Holland with a running time of 53 minutes. It aired on May 31, 16 days after the finale of "Seinfeld", and was watched by 2.5 million viewers, which was a significant number for HBO. The finale got very positive reviews from critics, especially in comparison to "Seinfeld"'s series finale. Coincidentally, Jerry Seinfeld appears as himself in the "Larry Sanders" finale. Other guests in the finale included Warren Beatty, Jim Carrey and Sean Penn.