Springfield confidential : jokes, secrets, and outright lies from a lifetime writing for the Simpsons

"A truly great comic is rare. Mike Reiss, by definition, is a rarity." —Conan O'Brien In celebration of The Simpsons thirtieth anniversary, the show's longest-serving writer and producer offers a humorous look at the writing and making of the legendary Fox series that has become one of the most revered artistic achievements in television history. Four-time Emmy winner Mike Reiss—who has worked on The Simpsons continuously since episode one in 1989—shares stories, scandals, and gossip about working with America's most iconic cartoon family ever. Reiss explains how the episodes are created, and provides an inside look at the show's writers, animators, actors and celebrity guests. He answers a range of questions from Simpsons fans and die-hards, and reminisces about the making of perennially favorite episodes. In his freewheeling, irreverent comic style, Reiss reflects on his lifetime inside The... Semi-Finalist for the 2019 James Thurber Award * One of Vulture's Top-10 Comedy Books of 2018 * A "Must" pick by Entertainment Weekly * An A.V. Club Best Books selection * A "New and Noteworthy" selection by USA Today In celebration of The Simpsons thirtieth anniversary, the show’s longest-serving writer and producer offers a humorous look at the writing and making of the legendary Fox series that has become one of the most revered artistic achievements in television history. Four-time Emmy winner Mike Reiss—who has worked on The Simpsons continuously since episode one in 1989—shares stories, scandals, and gossip about working with America’s most iconic cartoon family ever. Reiss explains how the episodes are created, and provides an inside look at the show’s writers, animators, actors and celebrity guests. He answers a range of questions from Simpsons fans and die-hards, and reminisces about the making of perennially favorite episodes. In his freewheeling, irreverent comic style, Reiss reflects on his lifetime inside The Simpsons —a personal highlights reel of his achievements, observations, and favorite stories. Springfield Confidential exposes why Matt Groening decided to make all of the characters yellow; dishes on what it’s like to be crammed in a room full of funny writers sixty hours a week; and tells what Reiss learned after traveling to seventy-one countries where The Simpsons is watched (ironic note: there’s no electricity in many of these places); and even reveals where Springfield is located! He features unique interviews with Judd Apatow, who also provided the foreword, and Conan O'Brien, as well as with Simpsons legends Al Jean, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, and more. Like Cary Elwes’ As You Wish , Jennifer Keishin Armstrong’s Seinfeldia , and Chris Smith’s The Daily Show: An Oral History , Springfield Confidential is a funny, informational, and exclusive look at one of the most beloved programs in all of television land. A "Must" pick by Entertainment Weekly An A.V. Club "Best Books of June" selection A "New and Noteworthy" selection by USA Today In celebration of The Simpsons thirtieth anniversary, the show's longest-serving writer and producer offers a humorous look at the writing and making of the legendary Fox series that has become one of the most revered artistic achievements in television history. Four-time Emmy winner Mike Reiss?who has worked on The Simpsons continuously since episode one in 1989?shares stories, scandals, and gossip about working with America's most iconic cartoon family ever. Reiss explains how the episodes are created, and provides an inside look at the show's writers, animators, actors and celebrity guests. He answers a range of questions from Simpsons fans and die-hards, and reminisces about the making of perennially favorite episodes. In his freewheeling, irreverent comic style, Reiss reflects on his lifetime inside The Simpsons?a personal highlights reel of his achievements, observations, and favorite stories. Springfield Confidential exposes why Matt Groening decided to make all of the characters yellow; dishes on what it's like to be crammed in a room full of funny writers sixty hours a week; and tells what Reiss learned after traveling to seventy-one countries where The Simpsons is watched (ironic note: there's no electricity in many of these places); and even reveals where Springfield is located! He features unique interviews with Judd Apatow, who also provided the foreword, and Conan O'Brien, as well as with Simpsons legends Al Jean, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, and more. Like Cary Elwes' As You Wish, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong's Seinfeldia, and Chris Smith's The Daily Show: An Oral History, Springfield Confidential is a funny, informational, and exclusive look at one of the most beloved programs in all of television land A "Must" pick by Entertainment Weekly An A.V. Club "Best Books of June" selection A "New and Noteworthy" selection by USA Today In celebration of The Simpsons thirtieth anniversary, the shows longest-serving writer and producer offers a humorous look at the writing and making of the legendary Fox series that has become one of the most revered artistic achievements in television history. Four-time Emmy winner Mike Reisswho has worked on The Simpsons continuously since episode one in 1989shares stories, scandals, and gossip about working with Americas most iconic cartoon family ever. Reiss explains how the episodes are created, and provides an inside look at the shows writers, animators, actors and celebrity guests. He answers a range of questions from Simpsons fans and die-hards, and reminisces about the making of perennially favorite episodes. In his freewheeling, irreverent comic style, Reiss reflects on his lifetime inside The Simpsons a personal highlights reel of his achievements, observations, and favorite stories. Springfield Confidential exposes why Matt Groening decided to make all of the characters yellow; dishes on what its like to be crammed in a room full of funny writers sixty hours a week; and tells what Reiss learned after traveling to seventy-one countries where The Simpsons is watched (ironic theres no electricity in many of these places); and even reveals where Springfield is located! He features unique interviews with Judd Apatow, who also provided the foreword,and Conan O'Brien, as well as with Simpsons legends Al Jean, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, and more. Like Cary Elwes As You Wish , Jennifer Keishin Armstrongs Seinfeldia , and Chris Smiths The Daily An Oral History , Springfield Confidential is a funny, informational, and exclusive look at one of the most beloved programs in all of television land. "A truly great comic is rare. Mike Reiss, by definition, is a rarity."--Conan O'BrienIn celebration of The Simpsons thirtieth anniversary, the show's longest-serving writer and producer offers a humorous look at the writing and making of the legendary Fox series that has become one of the most revered artistic achievements in television history. Four-time Emmy winner Mike Reiss--who has worked on The Simpsons continuously since episode one in 1989--shares stories, scandals, and gossip about working with America's most iconic cartoon family ever. Reiss explains how the episodes are created, and provides an inside look at the show's writers, animators, actors and celebrity guests. He answers a range of questions from Simpsons fans and die-hards, and reminisces about the making of perennially favorite episodes. In his freewheeling, irreverent comic style, Reiss reflects on his lifetime inside The Simpsons--a personal highlights reel of his achievements, observations, and favorite stories. Springfield Confidential exposes why Matt Groening decided to make all of the characters yellow; dishes on what it's like to be crammed in a room full of funny writers sixty hours a week; and tells what Reiss learned after traveling to seventy-one countries where The Simpsons is watched (ironic note: there's no electricity in many of these places); and even reveals where Springfield is located! He features unique interviews with Judd Apatow, who also provided the foreword, and Conan O'Brien, as well as with Simpsons legends Al Jean, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, and more. Like Cary Elwes' As You Wish, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong's Seinfeldia, and Chris Smith's The Daily Show: An Oral History, Springfield Confidential is a funny, informational, and exclusive look at one of the most beloved programs in all of television land "A truly great comic is rare. Mike Reiss, by definition, is a rarity."'Conan O'Brien In celebration of The Simpsons thirtieth anniversary, the show's longest-serving writer and producer offers a humorous look at the writing and making of the legendary Fox series that has become one of the most revered artistic achievements in television history. Four-time Emmy winner Mike Reiss'who has worked on The Simpsons continuously since episode one in 1989'shares stories, scandals, and gossip about working with America's most iconic cartoon family ever. Reiss explains how the episodes are created, and provides an inside look at the show's writers, animators, actors and celebrity guests. He answers a range of questions from Simpsons fans and die-hards, and reminisces about the making of perennially favorite episodes. In his freewheeling, irreverent comic style, Reiss reflects on his lifetime inside The Simpsons'a personal highlights reel of his achievements, observations, and favorite stories. Springfield Confidential exposes why Matt Groening decided to make all of the characters yellow; dishes on what it's like to be crammed in a room full of funny writers sixty hours a week; and tells what Reiss learned after traveling to seventy-one countries where The Simpsons is watched (ironic note: there's no electricity in many of these places); and even reveals where Springfield is located! He features unique interviews with Judd Apatow, who also provided the foreword, and Conan O'Brien, as well as with Simpsons legends Al Jean, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, and more. Like Cary Elwes' As You Wish, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong's Seinfeldia, and Chris Smith's The Daily Show: An Oral History, Springfield Confidential is a funny, informational, and exclusive look at one of the most beloved programs in all of television land Opening credits. Burning question: Where is Springfield? Act one. It begins ... ; A brief history of me ; Funny for money Act two. Meet the writers ; Simpsons songs : who writes them, how are they written, and why are there so goddamn many? ; Meet the showrunners ; Meet the characters ; Meet the cast ; Burning question: Do you read what fans post on websites? ; Four episodes that changed the world (kinda) ; Burning question: What do you think of Family Guy? ; Meet the fans ; Burning question: What do you say to people who say the show has gone downhill? ; Seeing the world with The Simpsons ; Burning question: Why has the show lasted so long? Act three. On comedy ; How Krusty became The Critic ; Burning question: What's the biggest reason The Critic failed? ; A development deal with the devil ; Burning question: What is the secret of The Simpsons' success? ; Doing animated films for cash (not credit) ; The sleazy, nasty world of children's books ; Gay for pay ; Writing for humans again! ; Back to the old tire fire The tag. It never ends ... ; The final burning question: Why are the Simpsons yellow? The longest-serving writer and producer for "The Simpsons" offers a humorous look at the writing and making of the legendary Fox series that has become one of the most revered artistic achievements in television history.