From the Publisher
The good is always rare. A truly great comic is rare. Mike Reiss, by definition, is a rarity.” — Conan O’Brien
“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
“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
“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
“Extremely funny and fascinating.” — Vanity Fair
“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
“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)
“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
“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
“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
Dick Cavett
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.”
Booklist (starred review)
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.
Entertainment Weekly
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.
“Weird Al” Yankovic
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.
Dan Castellaneta
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.
Vanity Fair
Extremely funny and fascinating.
Conan O’Brien
The good is always rare. A truly great comic is rare. Mike Reiss, by definition, is a rarity.
Nancy Cartwright
Mike Reiss always brings his own unique, quirky, eccentric genius with him.
The A.V. Club
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.
Bustle
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.
Vulture
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.
Kurt Andersen
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.
Washington Post
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 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.
Conan O'Brien
The good is always rare. A truly great comic is rare. Mike Reiss, by definition, is a rarity.
"Weird Al" Yankovic
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.
Lisa Ko
A treasure trove of anecdotes and interesting details...This entertaining book is certain to resonate with devoted viewers and even those who only watch the show sporadically.
Associated Press Staff
A treasure trove of anecdotes and interesting details...This entertaining book is certain to resonate with devoted viewers and even those who only watch the show sporadically.
Kirkus Reviews
2018-04-16
A cartoon pioneer walks us down his Memory Lane.In 1988, an at-the-time extremely progressive, heavily funded Fox network asked Matt Groening and Sam Simon to create a cartoon. Not believing that the show would be a success, they wrote scripts that would please them rather than imaginary viewers. But The Simpsons became a hit and made their creation a 20th-century institution. Reiss (Santa's Eleven Months Off, 2007, etc.) joined the crew of writers after many rejections for other positions. The Simpsons was not his first choice. During this time, he worked closely with the two creators, learning nearly everything through them. "A writers' room is a delicate thing—it's not enough to be funny; you also have to get along with everyone," he writes. "One irritating or obstinate writer can bring the entire machinery of a show to a halt." The author breaks down his story just like he would organize an episode of the show: in three acts. He takes us from his early days in the writer's room to his subsequent excessive weight gain as a devoted writer who paid little attention to self-care, the various failed and successful visits he made to campuses around the country to discuss the show, and the behind-the-scenes nitty-gritty of production. Interspersed throughout are "Burning Questions," assumedly those that people have asked him over the years. Each time, Reiss provides both a question and answer that injects the text with entertaining humor. "The Simpsons thrives on human stupidity," writes the author. "The dumber people get, the better our show is." 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. Superfans might even be tempted to go back to the first episode and experience the show all over again.A charming look at a cherished American show.
