The writers were obliged to create the plot of Hank having to hire a new assistant, after his long-serving assistant Darlene quits, because the actress who played Darlene, Linda Doucett, was fired from the show shortly after Season 3 began filming. The real story was that Doucett was the long-term girlfriend of series star Garry Shandling, but they had split up, and after recording the series opener, Shandling had Doucett fired from the show, triggering a long and bitter dispute between Doucett, Shandling and HBO. Doucett sued for wrongful termination and sexual harassment, and she later recounted that she had great difficulty with her lawsuit -she claimed that at her first meeting with him, noted lawyer Robert Shapiro had tried to kiss her because he found her "so alluring". Shapiro then set up a meeting with another leading Hollywood lawyer, Patricia Glaser (who later represented Harvey Weinstein) but according to Doucett, Glaser called her the following day and revealed that she had been hired to represent Shandling and his producer Brad Grey, and Doucett also later stated that the FBI had told her that her phones had been tapped by notorious private detective and Hollywood 'fixer' Anthony Pellicano. Doucett sued the defendants for US$2 million, but was eventually awarded a settlement of around $1 million. Despite the acrimony of the lawsuit, Doucett and Shandling eventually renewed their friendship, and Doucett spoke to Shandling by phone shortly before his death from a heart attack in 2016.