Arliss Information

Arliss (rendered in its logo as Arli$$) is an American situation comedy about a sports agent and his group of associates. The series premiered on HBO in 1996 and ended in 2002.

Cast

• Arliss starred Robert Wuhl, who also produced the show, as Arliss Michaels, the president of a sports agency who tries to cater to his clients' every need as best he can.
• Sandra Oh plays Rita Wu, Arliss's personal assistant.
• Jim Turner plays Kirby Carlisle, a middle-aged, ex-football star.
• Michael Boatman plays Stanley Babson, a conservative financial advisor.

Notable guest stars

Nearly every episode includes one or more notable personalities, primarily from the sports industry (such as athletes, coaches, and broadcasters), appearing as themselves. Oscar-winning actor James Coburn's 2002 appearance in the episode "The Immortal" was his last television performance before his fatal heart attack in 2002.

Three-plus appearances

• Bob Costas (1996"2001) (5 episodes)
• Van Earl Wright (1997"2002) (4 episodes)
• Jerry Jones (1996"2000) (3 episodes)
• Jim Lampley (1996"1999) (3 episodes)
• Tommy Lasorda (1996"2000) (3 episodes)
• Jeremy Roenick (2000"2002) (3 episodes)

Two appearances

• Jamal Anderson (1999, 2000)
• Bob Arum (1997, 1999)
• Chris Berman (1997, 1999)
• Al Bernstein (1996, 1999)
• Barry Bonds (1996, 1997)
• Gary Carter (2001)
• Roger Clemens (1997, 1999)
• Norm Crosby (1997, 2001)
• Oscar de la Hoya (1998, 1999)
• Marshall Faulk (2000, 2001)
• Ken Griffey, Jr. (1999)
• Jim Hill (1996, 1999)
• Roy Jones Jr. (2000, 2002)
• Eric Karros (1997, 1999)
• Larry King (1997, 2002)
• Jeanette Lee (1997, 2000)
• Al Michaels (1996, 1998)
• Gary Miller (2000, 2001)
• Jon Miller (1997, 2000)
• Chris Myers (1996, 1999)
• Pat O'Brien (2000, 2001)
• Shaquille O'Neal (1996, 2001)
• Andre Rison (1998)
• Curt Schilling (1998, 2002)
• Stuart Scott (1999, 2000)
• Robert Shapiro (1996, 2000)
• Bruce Smith (1997, 2000)
• Ozzie Smith (1997, 1998)
• George M. Steinbrenner III (1999)
• Katarina Witt (1997, 1998)
• Dave Winfield (1998, 2000)

One appearance

• Ed Asner (2000)
• Eric Bischoff (1999)
• Jack Buck
• Jay Buhner (2001)
• Kobe Bryant (1996)
• Amanda Bynes (1999)
• James Coburn (2002)
• Tim Duncan
• Jim Edmonds
• Rich Eisen (2001)

• Scott Erickson
• David Falk (1997)
• Tony Gonzalez (2000)
• Dominik Hasek (1998)
• Michael Irvin (1998)
• Kevin James (2001)
• Lincoln Kennedy (2000)
• Bobby Labonte
• Barry Larkin
• Dan Marino

• Juan Pablo Montoya
• Dan Patrick (1998)
• Kyle Petty
• Regis Philbin
• Emmitt Smith
• Joe Theisman
• Alex Trebek
• Keith Van Horn
• Kristy Wu (1999)

Arliss on other programs

In July 1999, Wuhl also appeared on World Championship Wrestling's Monday Nitro as a guest announcer. Joining Scott Hudson and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Robert did not appear as himself but was named as Arliss and acted in character. He announced that "the WCW" (sic) would appear on Arliss because none of the Big Three networks would have WCW. Arliss stayed in character on color commentary as Randy Savage, Gorgeous George, and Miss Madness walked to the ring. Arliss said he was scouting Dennis Rodman, who was doing his third stint with the company. Wuhl appeared for cross-promotion as WCW was owned by Time Warner (and Nitro aired on TNT), as was HBO. In the Arliss episode entitled "To Thy Own Self Be True", WCW creative head Eric Bischoff guest stars along with wrestlers Lex Luger, Randy Savage and Gorgeous George.

During the October 12, 2002 episode of Saturday Night Live, guest host Sarah Michelle Gellar delivered the following monologue in a fake television commercial sketch: </ref> }}

In the October 4th, 2012 episode of 30 Rock, "The Beginning of the End," Kenneth says, in response to Tracy Jordan's marriage having lasted for over 20 years, "That's half as long as it felt Arliss was on TV!"

Criticism

This show, which ran for seven seasons, is a prime example of how HBO differs from traditional networks due to its nature as a network its viewers specifically pay to be able to watch. Arliss was cited by so many viewers as the sole reason that they paid for the network that its relatively small fan base was able to keep the show on the air for a lengthy run. Entertainment Weekly consistently referred to it as one of the worst shows on television. Some felt that the show was subpar and that the show's frequent use of obscure sports references made the humor something only die-hard sports fans would understand. ESPN.com columnist Bill Simmons repeatedly wrote about how awful he felt the show was, often holding it up as Exhibit A in what he saw as the terrible state of sports shows on TV. Simmons also noted that HBO was forced to reschedule the show because it wasn't able to hold enough viewers before Six Feet Under. Simmons' viewpoint notwithstanding, his employer acquired rights to air Arli$$ in reruns on ESPN Classic.