Arliss (TV series)

Arliss (rendered in its logo as Arli$$) is an American sitcom about a sports agent that aired on HBO from 1996 to 2002.
"Arliss" on other programs.
In July 1999, Robert Wuhl appeared, in character as Arliss, on WCW "Monday Nitro" as a guest announcer, alongside Scott Hudson and Bobby Heenan. He said that his HBO series has featured WCW wrestlers as guest stars but the Big Three networks were "scared" of doing the same. Arliss said he was scouting Dennis Rodman, who was doing his third stint with the company. Wuhl's appearance was a cross-promotion for HBO, as both it and WCW were owned by Time Warner. In the "Arliss" episode entitled "To Thy Own Self Be True", WCW creative head Eric Bischoff guest starred along with wrestlers Lex Luger, Randy Savage and Gorgeous George.
In "The Simpsons" season 13 episode "Half-Decent Proposal", Marge, Patty and Selma are watching "Nookie in New York" when an announcer states, "Coming up next on BHO ["sic"], it's "Arliss"!" Patty and Selma scream and reach for the remote control.
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:
In the "30 Rock" seventh season premiere, "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!"
Former UCB New York stage show "The George Lucas Talk Show" organized a 7 week-long charity marathon of "Arliss" episodes during the Covid pandemic in 2020. The hosts watched all seven seasons of the show and interviewed many of the shows writers, producers, and cast, including Wuhl. The livestreams raised over $20,000 for the New York City FoodBank.
Criticism.
The show, which ran for seven seasons, has been referred to as an example of how premium cable networks take a different approach to managing their programming, because viewers specifically pay for the network. "Arliss" was cited by a number of HBO subscribers as the sole reason that they paid for the network, and so its relatively small fan base was able to keep the show on the air for a lengthy run. The show frequently used obscure sports references, further limiting its appeal to a niche audience of sports fans. "Entertainment Weekly" repeatedly referred to it as one of the worst shows on television, and sportswriter Bill Simmons (who would eventually work for HBO itself under his digital banner "The Ringer") used "Arliss" as an example of what he saw as a lack of quality fictional shows about sports.