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  • HBO
  • Aug 10, 1996
  • HBO
  • Aug 10, 1996
Arli$$

Summary It's tough being a professional athlete. Sure, there are big bucks. And big time glory. But there's also responsibility. Temptations. The media. Hangers on. More temptation. Diminishing skills. Lost endorsements. An uncertain future. Still more temptations. In the fast lane of pro sports, an athlete needs someone he can trust. He needs a...

Created By: Robert Wuhl

  • HBO
  • Aug 10, 1996
  • HBO
  • Aug 10, 1996
Arli$$
Season 1
7 Seasons
Season Premiere: Aug 10, 1996
Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 15 Critic Reviews
74
User Score Available after 4 ratings
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My Score
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Summary It's tough being a professional athlete. Sure, there are big bucks. And big time glory. But there's also responsibility. Temptations. The media. Hangers on. More temptation. Diminishing skills. Lost endorsements. An uncertain future. Still more temptations. In the fast lane of pro sports, an athlete needs someone he can trust. He needs a...

Created By: Robert Wuhl

Season Episodes

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Episode 0 • Aug 10, 1996 • 27 m
A Man of Our Times
On the night he is to receive the award "Man of Our Times," Arliss faces multiples crises including Kirby's gambling addiction and arranging a same-sex marriage for a client.
Episode 1 • Aug 14, 1996 • 24 m
Negotiating: It's Never Personal
Arliss uses his new client, a rising high-school basketball star, to settle an old score with an NBA team owner.
Episode 2 • Aug 21, 1996 • 23 m
How to Turn a Minus Into a Plus
The arrest of Arliss' top boxing client threatens the match he's been promoting as the event of the year. Unwilling to lose the huge amount of money the fight would bring him, Arliss tries to find a way to make the fight happen anyway.
Episode 3 • Aug 28, 1996 • 26 m
Athletes ARE Role Models
Arliss tries to dissuade his guilt-ridden, clean-cut quarterback client from confessing his transgressions to the public.
Episode 4 • Sep 4, 1996 • 24 m
What About the Fans?
Arliss gets an offer he can't refuse: find a new home for the L.A. Kings hockey team and become their part-owner. Will it be Raleigh, North Carolina, Las Vegas or New Mexico?
Episode 5 • Sep 11, 1996 • 23 m
The Company You Keep
Arliss receives an astronomical offer from a major competitor firm to sell his agency to them. Kirby, Rita and Stanley are kept out of the loop in this case which makes them worry that their boss will sell them out.
Episode 6 • Sep 18, 1996 • 27 m
Crossing the Line
Arliss agrees to represent a complete outsider in female tennis simply because he fancies her.
Episode 7 • Sep 18, 1996 • 23 m
Colors of the Rainbow
Arliss' derogatory comment about a stickball team is interpreted by the media as racist. This turns the public against him but also attracts a new racist client.
Episode 8 • Oct 2, 1996 • 25 m
Timing Is Everything
Arliss tries to turn beach volleyball into the next hot big thing in sport, but the players he chooses to represent turn out to be the weakest link in his perfect plan.
Episode 9 • Oct 9, 1996 • 28 m
The Client's Best Interest
Arliss and Kirby team up to outplay the posh winner of their fantasy baseball league, even if it means going against the best interest of one of their own clients.
Episode 10 • Oct 16, 1996 • 27 m
The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of
Arliss tries to find a way to help his aging, hapless childhood sports idol return to glory.
7 Seasons

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 15 Critic Reviews
74
80% Positive
12 Reviews
20% Mixed
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 15 Critic Reviews
74
80% Positive
12 Reviews
20% Mixed
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
Jun 17, 2013
With its viciously sarcastic view of shameless business deals in sports, Arli$$ is ready for instant victories as a champion of television satire. [7 Aug 1996, p.53]
FULL REVIEW
90
Jun 17, 2013
Wuhl, who wrote the scripts for the first two episodes, is shrewd and witty in both the creation and delivery of dialogue, and outstanding in physical comedy. If sitcoms were judged like gymnastics, Sanders star Garry Shandling would grab the gold medal with a perfect score of 10 and Wuhl would be a cinch for the silver at 9.9. [7 Aug 1996, p.D01]
FULL REVIEW
80
Jun 17, 2013
Arli$$ is character comedy. The humor comes out of the characters, the relationships and their work. It rings true all the time. [7 Aug 1996, p.B65]
By Marvin Kitman FULL REVIEW
80
Jun 16, 2013
Above all, Arli$$ succeeds because it has a sharp point of view and a subject worth lampooning. It might not be in the same league as The Larry Sanders Show but give it time. It definitely has the look of a winner. [10 Aug 1996, p.E1]
By Hal Boedeker FULL REVIEW
75
Jun 26, 2013
A pallid imitation of The Larry Sanders Show, the series works best when its real-life guests are funny.
By Joe Queenan FULL REVIEW
60
Jun 17, 2013
The biggest yet most easily adjusted problem is that of tone. In many scenes, Arli$$ hits everything just right; a scene in next week's episode, with Arliss conducting a high-pressure negotiation with the owner of a pro basketball team, is Wuhl and Arli$$ at their best...In other scenes, though, the laughs are hit too broadly, and even the soundtrack and editing punch the punch lines much too aggressively. "The Larry Sanders Show" knows to let the laughter find its own level; in time, I hope, Arli$$ will also. [9 Aug 1996, p.115]
By David Bianculli FULL REVIEW
40
Jun 16, 2013
It tops out at mildly funny and is infrequently even that, suffering from clashing tones and from too much Wuhl. [10 Aug 1996, p.F6]
By Howard Rosenberg FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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