Mike Reiss

Mike Reiss has won four Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on The Simpsons, the wacky animated series that has kept America and much of the world laughing since 1989 and earned TIME Magazine's vote as "the greatest TV show of the twentieth century”.

The Simpsons is the longest-running American animated series, longest-running American sitcom, and the longest-running American scripted primetime television series, both in terms of seasons and number of episodes.

During his 15 seasons on the show, Mike Reiss personally penned a dozen scripts and produced over 300 episodes. He has also worked on screenplays including: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs., The Simpsons Movie and My Life in Ruins.

Mike Reiss studied at Harvard University, however he hates Harvard as an institution and felt the education he got there was distant, useless and uncaring. He studied English, but disliked the course and was rejected from a creative writing class.

So, in what would become an ironic twist of fate, he focused his attention on comedy, performing in talent shows and writing. In Holworthy Hall at Harvard, Mike met fellow freshman Al Jean; they befriended one another and collaborated in their writing efforts for the humour publication Harvard Lampoon. Reiss became co-president of the Harvard Lampoon, alongside Jon Vitti (The Simpsons, King of The Hill, The Office).

In 1989, Mike Reiss was hired along with Jean as the first members of the original writing staff of the Fox network animated series The Simpsons. He worked on the thirteen episodes of the show's first season. They became executive producers and show runners at the start of the third season in 1991. A show runner has the ultimate responsibility of all the processes that an episode goes through before completion, including the writing, the animation, the voice acting, and the music.

They left after season four to create The Critic, an animated show about film critic Jay Sherman (voiced by Jon Lovitz); the show was executive produced by The Simpsons co-developer James L. Brooks. In 1994, Reiss and Jean signed a three-year deal with The Walt Disney Company to produce other TV shows for ABC.

The pair returned periodically to work on The Simpsons, Jean eventually returning permanently as showrunner from season thirteen, whereas Reiss returned only part-time as a consultant and producer, flying to Los Angeles one day a week to attend story meetings and contribute to the writing process

Other television credits include The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Alf, Eddie Murphy's The PJs and It's Garry Shandling's Show, where he earned an ACE award for writing and producing.

Mike Reiss also created Queer Duck, the animated adventures of a gay duck. An internet hit with rave reviews in the U.S. and Europe, the show made the BBC's list of "100 Greatest Cartoons of All Time”. A feature film version of Queer Duck was released in 2006.

A former editor of both The Harvard Lampoon and The National Lampoon, Mike Reiss continues as a consulting producer on The Simpsons. In addition, he is a frequent contributor to Esquire and Games magazines and is an award winning mystery writer.

He has published 17 children's books, including the best-seller How Murray Saved Christmas, a Christmas story for Jewish kids, The Boy Who Looked Like Lincoln and The Boy Who Wouldn't Share. Mike also won an Edgar Award for his mystery story Cro-Magnon PI. He has lectured on comedy and animation in 36 states in the country and is looking to visit even more.

Mike Reiss holds a BA from Harvard University. He travels from New York City. Like most children's book authors, he has no children. He is an atheist.

Culled from more than two decades of creating the funniest and most outrageous shows on television, Mike Reiss' after dinner presentation is a unique glimpse inside the cutting edge of entertainment, including rare video clips from The Simpsons and The Critic.

He takes audiences inside the lives of Springfield's first family, revealing how The Simpsons was almost cancelled before it hit the air, secret trivia of the show, insane dealings with network censors and lots of juicy gossip about celebrity guest stars. Mike also delves into the current state of television programming, describing with his characteristic wit how TV has changed and where it's going.

Mike Reiss’ popular after dinner speeches include:

Simpsons Family Values
An irreverent, gossipy, inside look at the Simpsons: dealings with censors, celebrity guest stars and angry sponsors. It's very, very funny.

Bart's Billions: Secrets of the Simpsons Empire
An inside look at how a cult cartoon show went on to become an international hit and gross fifteen billion dollars... and counting!

The Simpsons and Other Gentiles I've Known
An ecumenical look at Jewish comedy. The speech has become a Hillel society staple, allowing the Jewish college group to reach out to the campus as a whole. At UNC Chapel Hill, it drew 800 people and won a national award from Hillel. It has also played well at many synagogues.

Clients often ask about purchasing books for giveaways and delegate packs. Below you’ll find a selection of products by Mike Reiss. Click the images to view on Amazon's website. For bulk orders, please speak with your Booking Agent.