TELEVISION - June 2, 1993

Shandling Segment Canceled: After going back and forth, “Dateline NBC” on Tuesday canceled a segment on Garry Shandling, who begins a new season of his HBO series “The Larry Sanders Show” tonight. “Dateline” spokeswoman Tory Beilinson denied reports that senior NBC management, which unsuccessfully pursued Shandling to replace late-night host David Letterman, played a role in the move. The decision, she said, was made by executive producer Neal Shapiro. “He decided that this wasn’t a piece that works for us right now, for the sake of the balance of the broadcast,” Beilinson said. In April, “Dateline” sent a crew to the “Larry Sanders” set for a piece to be reported by Stone Phillips.