Judd Apatow says his late mentor Garry Shandling became a nicer, wiser guy toward the end of his life, which will be explored in a new documentary about the comedian.
We spoke to Judd on "TMZ Live," and he gave us a rundown on what's behind his new project with HBO -- a 2-part documentary about his deceased pal and comedy great, Garry, that's airing March 26 and 27 on HBO at 8 PM.
Judd tells us Garry's diaries and journals -- which are the centerpieces in the doc -- revealed the comic became much more compassionate and giving throughout the years ... as neurotic of a creative genius as he was. He says Garry realized giving more to others was a W.
It sounds like a crazy deep dive into the mind of Shandling, who was groundbreakingly innovative with his shows like "It's Garry Shandling's Show" and "The Larry Sanders Show."
And lucky for Judd, he was in Garry's good graces ... until that one year.