Description:
Mike Reiss has spent his lifetime--well, nearly--at The Simpsons, since the show's debut in 1989, as a writer, producer, and showrunner, and he knows a lot about these four-fingered freaks and their crazy antics. In Springfield Confidential, he shares his behind-the-scenes stories about his work on the most iconic American cartoon family ever. Reiss pulls back the curtain for those curious about how The Simpsons works, answers burning questions from Simpsons die-hards (such as "Why are the Simpsons yellow?") and shares never-before-told stories about creating favorite episodes and characters.
In his freewheeling, irreverent comic style, Reiss reflects on his lifetime inside The Simpsons--a personal highlight reel of his achievements, observations, and favorite anecdotes--and gives fans lots of inside dish on the show's animators, actors, and celebrity guests.
Brief description:
Mike Reiss has won four Emmys and a Peabody Award during his twenty-eight years writing for The Simpsons. He ran the show in Season 4, which Entertainment Weekly called "the greatest season of the greatest show in history." In 2006, Reiss received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Animation Writers Caucus. Reiss has written jokes for such comedy legends as Johnny Carson, Joan Rivers, Garry Shandling...and Pope Francis! For his comedic contributions to the charitable group Joke with the Pope, in 2015 Pope Francis declared Reiss "A Missionary of Joy."
Review Quotes:
"Not until Springfield Confidential has one really nailed what it's like to work in the mystical promised land of The Simpsons' offices. Reiss shares the pride, joy, frustration, gratitude, grueling labor, and sense of luck that are a part of bringing Springfield to life." - Vulture
"Extremely funny and fascinating." - Vanity Fair
"Springfield Confidential offers a wealth of great anecdotes, all peppered with punchlines that make Reiss's memoir as hilarious as whichever season of The Simpsons you recall most fondly." - Washington Post
"Springfield Confidential spills all of the juicy secrets from behind the scenes of your dad's favorite cartoon, and after reading it, he may never be able to look at Homer the same way again." - Bustle
"Founding Simpsons writer Reiss offers a funny and factoid-filled glimpse behind the curtain -- or, brown couch -- of the beloved sitcom...a surprising view of Springfield you've never heard before." - Entertainment Weekly
"In Springfield Confidential, Reiss offers a breezy history of the show from his insider's perspective, from its dismal early prospects to its astonishing success, with insights aimed squarely at the Comic Book Guy variety of Simpsons fans." - The A.V. Club
"Always entertaining and frequently laugh-out-loud-hilarious. There have been a lot of books written about The Simpsons, some of them good but most not so much, and this is hands down one of the very best." - Booklist (starred review)
"Mike Reiss is a great example of somebody who writes for a living and does it so well in so many different ways. And, of course, he helped write this thing called The Simpsons." - Dan Castellaneta, longtime voice of Homer Simpson
"Mike Reiss always brings his own unique, quirky, eccentric genius with him." - Nancy Cartwright, longtime voice of Bart Simpson
"The Simpsons is one of America's greatest cultural products of last few decades, and Mike Reiss was and remains one of its key creators. So if you like The Simpsons, why wouldn't you read this entertaining, charming and informative insider's chronicle? I did, and I'm better for it." - Kurt Andersen, novelist and SPY magazine founder
"Besides providing a hilarious look at what is perhaps the greatest TV show of all time, Mike Reiss has also created a staggering literary work that is almost completely devoid of typos and grammatical errors. It's well worth the price of this book for the proofreading skills alone." - "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Always honest, playful, and engaging, the book will provide fans with deep insight into the show's history but also into its daily production and future...A charming look at a cherished American show." - Kirkus Reviews
"Reiss has done a masterful job of compiling this laugh-filled account of his long years as a writer on this beloved show. It's the sort of book that makes you wish your dinner guests would go the hell home so you can get back to reading it." - Dick Cavett
"The good is always rare. A truly great comic is rare. Mike Reiss, by definition, is a rarity." - Conan O'Brien