PORTLAND, Maine — The best summer job you’ve ever had doesn’t compare to the best one Mike Reiss landed. In 1988, he accepted what he was certain would be a temporary gig writing for a new series called “The Simpsons,” which would be the first cartoon in prime time since “The Flintstones” in the 1960s. The writers, to a large degree, wrote those first scripts to please themselves. Why wouldn’t they? After six episodes, they agreed, the show would be cancelled.
That was more than 660 episodes ago, and Mike Reiss is still writing for “The Simpsons.” He says Homer Simpson never gets bored—and neither does he. How has the show stayed fresh? How has he stayed fresh? He talks about those challenges and much more in the second part of our conversation.
