Michael Louis "Mike" Reiss (/riːs/ REESS; born September 15, 1959) is an American television comedy writer. He served as a showrunner, writer, and producer for the animated series The Simpsons and co-created the animated series The Critic. He created and wrote the webtoon Queer Duck; he has also written screenplays including: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, The Simpsons Movie and My Life in Ruins.
Early life[]
Reiss, the middle child of five, was born to a Jewish family in Bristol, Connecticut. His mother was a local journalist and his father was a doctor. He attended Memorial Boulevard Public School, Thomas Patterson School and Bristol Eastern High School and has said that he felt like an "outsider" in those places.
Reiss studied at Harvard University. He says that he hates Harvard as an institution, explaining that "I had an epiphany on my third day there: This place would be just as good as a summer camp where you met other people, networked, and learned from them. I feel the education I got there was distant and useless and uncaring. I feel they sort of squandered my youth and my father's savings." Reiss studied English, but disliked the course and was rejected from a creative writing class.
He focused his attention on comedy, performing in talent shows and writing. In Holworthy Hall at Harvard, Reiss met fellow freshman Al Jean; they befriended one another and collaborated in their writing efforts for the humor publication Harvey Lampoon. Reiss became co-president for the Harvard Lampoon, alongside Jon Vitti. Jeff Martin, another writer for the Lampoon, said Reiss and Jean "definitely loomed large around the magazine. They were very funny guys and unusually polished comedy writers for that age. We were never surprised that they went on to success." Jean has also said that the duo spent most of their time at the Lampoon, adding that "it was practically my second dorm room."
Personal life[]
Reiss lives in New York City with his wife Denise, and the two frequently travel abroad. He is Jewish.
In 2022 Reiss visited the wreck of the Titanic in OceanGate's Titan submersible, a year prior to the submersible's infamous implosion that killed five passengers. He noted that before embarking on the expedition he had to sign a waiver that mentioned the likelihood of death multiple times.
Writing credits[]
The Simpsons episodes[]
The following is a list of episodes of The Simpsons Reiss has written has Al Jean:
- "There's No Disgrace Like Home"
- "Moaning Lisa"
- "The Telltale Head" (with Matt Groening and Sam Simon)
- "The Way We Was" (with Sam Simon)
- "Stark Raving Dad"
- "Treehouse of Horror II" (The Bart Zone)
- "Lisa's Pony"
- "Treehouse of Horror III" (Clown Without Pity)
- "Round Springfield" (Jean and Reiss received story credit only; the teleplay was written by Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia)
- "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious"
Films[]
- The Simpsons Movie (2007) (screenwriter)
- My Life in Ruins (2009) (writer)
- Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) (screenwriter)