Mike Reiss, author of  ‘Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets, and Outright Lies from a Lifetime Writing for The Simpsons,’ will provide an inside look at TVs longest-running scripted primetime television series.

Submitted by Michelle Bonner, Director of Marketing, Mandell JCC

The Mandell JCC is excited to announce that Connecticut native, Emmy and Peabody Award winning writer for The Simpsons TV show, Mike Reiss, will headline its Book Festival on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019.

Reiss, who is the former head writer for TV’s longest-running scripted primetime television show, will give fans an inside look at America’s most iconic cartoon family, including sharing stories, scandals and gossip.

“We are thrilled to have Mike share our stage,” says Jill Ziplow, director of the Mandell JCC Hartford Jewish Film Festival. “To think that when the show first hit the airwaves, most of its writers thought it might only last six weeks, and here we are more than three decades later, and Mike was there for all of it, and giving us a first-hand look with his book.”

Reiss, who worked on The Simpsons continuously since episode one in 1989, provides a complete narrative history of the series, explaining how the episodes are created, provides an inside look at the show’s writers, animators, actors, and celebrity guests, answers a range of questions from Simpsons fans and die-hards, and reminisces about his favorite episodes.

“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 60 hours a week, tells what Reiss learned after traveling to 71 countries where The Simpsons is watched (ironic note: there’s no electricity in many of these places), and even reveals where Springfield is located!

Tickets to this event, which is sponsored by the Mandell JCC’s media partner, the Hartford Courant, are $20 and available at the Mandell JCC Box Office, 860-231-6316 orwww.mandelljcc.org/tix. For full festival details, visit www.mandelljcc.org.

The Mandell JCC’s 26th Annual Jewish Book Festival is made possible by the following partners: Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Hartford, Simsbury Bank, Farmington Bank, and TD Bank. Special thanks to Media Partners: the Hartford Courant, and the Jewish Ledger. Hospitality Sponsor: Waterford Hotel Group. Additional thanks to Mandell JCC Pillars Society and Pacesetters.

About the Mandell Jewish Community Center

The Mandell Jewish Community Center is open to everyone and supported by funds raised by the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, a recipient of funding from the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Hartford, and a member of the JCC Association of North America.

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