Mike Reiss started writing for The Simpsons because NO ONE else would take the job. They didn’t know they were passing up the opportunity work on what would soon become the #1 animated series on prime time TV. Mike has tons of stories about TV...
Mike Reiss started writing for The Simpsons because NO ONE else would take the job. They didn’t know they were passing up the opportunity work on what would soon become the #1 animated series on prime time TV. Mike has tons of stories about TV writing, comedy, and creating something people love. His secret: “We said, ‘No one’s gonna watch this so let’s just make this for us.” In this episode, Mike tells me why he took a chance, why he wasn’t afraid, and how it became the most fulfilling career move he ever made.
Links and Resources
Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets, and Outright Lies from a Lifetime Writing for The Simpsons by Mike Reiss
Follow Mike on Twitter
My interview with Nancy Cartwright (the voice of Bart Simpson)
The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson
It’s Garry Shandling Show
Not Necessarily the News
Conan O’Brien
James L. Brook
Sam Simon
Jake Hogan
The Flintstones
Aristotle
Jim Brooks
Teen Angel
Whoopi Goldberg
Al Gene
Mark Twain quote “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter”
Larry David
Chevy Chase
Richard Pryor
My interview with Nell Scovell
Harvard Lampoon
Thomas Pynchon
J.D Salinger
Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
V. by Thomas Pynchon
Tom Clancy
Buzz Aldrin
James Taylor
Magic Johnson
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Billy Crystal
Josh Gad
Poking the Dead Frog: Conversations with Today's Top Comedy Writers by Mike Sacks
Sick in the Head: Conversations About Life and Comedy by Judd Apatow
Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
Even This I Get to Experience by Norman Lear
The Hitchhiker by Charlie Lee
I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltucher.com/podcast.
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