So I've been around from the beginning. Even though I was an adult when The Simpsons came out, it's hard to remember a world before The Simpsons. I stopped watching it when I basically stopped watching TV, so I'm not caught up, but I continue to keep up by reading about it and talking about it and watching random episodes now.
This was a lot of fun and there were a lot of surprises for me. It's amazing to me how people I think are brilliant, both voice actors and writers, weren't recognized as such from the beginning. I've had friends who wouldn't let their kids watch it because they said it was subversive, but that was exactly why it was regularly on in my home. I wanted clever ideas that pushed normal boundaries to be presented in a safe way where we could talk about it.
It's a testament to how well The Simpsons went above and beyond that the show is still on and still widely talked about. Even people who don't watch know a lot about it. It's a real part of modern culture.
Thanks to NetGalley I got to listen to the audiobook, which I enjoyed a lot. It's suited to audio because of the way it's presented, as an ongoing story.

📺 Stupid TV, Be More Funny - Alan Siegel

D’oh! During 2020, I took the plunge and dove head first into watching ALL of The Simpsons episodes. Come onnnn, it was Covid, what else were we doing? WELL, I’m proud to say that I am up to date and ready to start season 37 this September!

A book about how the show, The Simpsons, changed so much more than just pop culture. This book was so informative and fun. It talks a lot about the growth of FOX and different tv networks but also how all The Simpsons’ came to be; how they grew, changed, made us all laugh, and why they’re still so successful today. I know they’re renewed to season 40, but I honestly hope it never stops.

When I saw this book coming out, I knew I had to have it (thank you @ hatchett, grand central pub!). As a kid, I have some memories of my family getting excited over the famous couch scene theme opener but I was never really into The Simpsons, until now. I love them all and all for different reasons. There are so many episodes, I can’t remember them all, but my favorite character changes based on the episode. They’re so funny and different in each, the show is never boring! If you’re at all interested in The Simpsons or TV as a whole, this book would be interesting for you! No rating for non-fiction, but I really enjoyed learning more about a show I love.

Really interesting and enjoyable history of the early days of the Simpsons and the cultural legacy of the show.

stupid tv, be more funny is a look behind the curtain for american television nerds.

i listened to the audiobook and have little to say. if you’re interested in picking it up you’ll probably like it since it’s pretty much what you think it will be. at least that was the case for me.

nothing in there blew me away and it won’t stick with me like other books but i also don’t have any major criticisms. it can be nice to just listen to someone talk about their longterm interests and experiences in that field.

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced audiobook for review.
The Simpsons helped popularise the world of mature sitcom style animation, and this book is a great retelling of the work it took and the influence the series had on our cultural landscape.
I enjoyed the details around the making of prominent episodes, as well as the response to some of the more controversial plot points and characterisations.
The narration was clear and well read, although it may would have been great if they were able to source some of the sound clips from the series from the studio.

Funny, nostalgic, and historically interesting coverage of a dynamic cultural phenomenon. I was never a hard core fan, but still this novel was appealing to me because it stands out in various ways in society. This show has made its mark and its impact shines through countless other facets of entertainment. Good read overall!

My dad was a big Simpson’s fan, so I watched it off and on growing up. It’s one of the things that still brings us together as a family. But I never really delved into the behind the scenes or history of it all. This book had just enough of that to provide an understanding to those of us who didn’t already know it and use it to back up points on how the show had such a wide ranging cultural impact. A lot of the arguments made in this book were ones that I hadn’t considered, but that I thought made a lot of sense. The author is definitely a fan of the series, and it shows. There were several scenes from episodes mentioned that made me think of memories watching them or made me laugh in remembrance. Overall, definitely a good book for anyone interested in the Simpson’s.

Thanks #Netgalley for an advance listening copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was informative and interesting to me as I grew up watching The Simpsons. I learned a lot about the happenings behind the scenes and felt nostalgic listening to the narrator talk about past episodes of the show.

The delivery of the narrator was good and clear, but a little slow for my liking so I listened on a faster speed.

If you grew up with The Simpsons, you will love this book. It's not only a history and ode to the show, it discusses how the success of the show brought about the age of adult animation, spawning shows like King of the Hill, Bob's Burgers, Beevis and Butthead, etc. I really liked this book because it went into detail about how The Simpsons came to be and went in depth about how the show was created and how each season worked. I loved the insider view of how the show gets made and the work it takes to keep it going. If you are a fan of the Simpsons, you should definitely check out this book. And the narrator of the audio book was really good.

In my house growing up, 7 pm was dinner, and time for Jeopardy. 7:30 was time for syndicated Simpsons, and every Sunday was dedicated to the Simpsons.

I really enjoyed this history of the Simpsons. I never knew any of the background story, so it was cool to see how the show came to exist.

I forgot how franchise crazy this show was though. I still have tons of my Simpsons board games, video games, and I even have the CD! Time to Do the Bartman 😭

Anyway this is a light must read for Simpson Fans.

I am a casual Simpsons fan. I have seen most of the treehouse of horror and the movie. I attempted the entire series but that didn’t work out. But this book isn’t just for Simpsons fans (even though they’ll probably love it). It’s about the formation of a new network, a new popular type of media, and the journey that a creative team can go on when they are given the space and freedom to do so. The book tells the full history of The Simpsons, which also requires telling the history of the beginning of Fox Network, a few presidential elections, changing societal interests, inequities within the TV industry, and more. We also get a history of the phenomenon that is adult animation. I loved discovering a few sayings and cultural references that I was already aware of, but had no idea they originated with the simpsons. I read this book video audio and I think the narrator was solid. I would have love a few voice clips from some of the referenced interviews/news spots but I understand why they weren’t there.

I think whether you are a Simpsons fan or not, if you have any interests in the TV industry, you’ll love this one.

(Also the next time I hit Simpson’s World at Universal Studios, I can appreciate all the details a little more).

Disclosure: I received a gifted copy from the publisher and an ALC from NetGalley. No review was required and all opinions are my own.

If you’re, at all, interested in the phenomenon known as The Simpsons, this cook is for you. Discussing the show’s creation and moving through its celebration, Alan Siegel breaks everything down. From the writers to those the show inspires, this is a must read!

Stupid TV, Be More Funny by Alan Siegel (book cover is in image) takes the reader through the history of the Simpsons cartoon and its impacts on the US. The narration by Eric Jason Martin was well done and keeps the reader engaged throughout the story. I was able to finish this audiobook in one sitting. This was a great walk down memory lane, and I definitely recommend this book for those who are interested on how popular culture evolves and influences culture in the long term.

Thank you Hachette Audio | Grand Central Publishing for the oppornity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 4 Stars
Pub Date: Jun 10 2025

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4.25

Very funny and fascinating overview into how The Simpsons changed tv. I’ve never been a huge Simpsons fans but their impact on pop culture is undeniable

This was a super interesting audiobook! I thought the narrator did a great job bringing the story to life! I used to love The Simpsons and watched it all the time as a kid! I still watch it now once in awhile. It was fun to get a behind the scenes look at the history of the show! The book covers a lot about the early years and the writing process. I enjoyed the interviews with the writers and the background for many of the different jokes and episodes.

This is an interesting book that I’d recommend to readers who enjoyed The Simpsons and want to dive deeper into the history of the show!

As soon as I saw this, I knew I needed to read it. Unfortunately I found it very boring. I don’t know if it was the audiobook narrator or the content. I just didn’t like it.

While there are some fun tidbits in here, the book was very short and ultimately lacking something. It felt more like what you would get if a superfan of the show gave you a brief overview over drinks. Ultimately a nice insight but more like an appetizer than a full course.

I listened to the audio version as well as read the book. The audio version was easy to follow and the narrator did an excellent job. But at 300 or so pages, it does feel sparse. There are interviews with the cast/crew, with an emphasis on the writing team. It was amusing to read about the early days but also get perspective that this was a show written by white male university graduates - a boys club.

Perhaps the most interesting point was about the fans starting up message boards and micro analyzing every episode. The writers were at first mystified, then amused at assumptions of depth, then disgusted by the more unsavory comments. The in-jokes and social commentary always made the show stand out and it was perhaps anticlimactic that the authors didn't put as much into the in-jokes and depth as fans assumed.

In all, a very light and easy to read/listen to background of the Simpsons, the show's impact on pop culture, and behind the scenes reveals. More a survey than a comprehensive examination. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

I loved The Simpsons as a child. I have many fond memories of watching it with my dad and hoping he'd fall asleep so I could sneak an extra episode even though it was bedtime. I had to wait a bit longer to watch the Treehouse of Horror episodes (he listened to Marge's warnings) and remember being incredibly excited but slightly nervous when I was allowed to watch them (verdict: fun episodes but not as scary as I was expecting). When I saw an ARC was available I just had to request it.

This book focuses on the early years of The Simpsons, looking at how it came to be and how the early seasons were created and written. While it spends some time criticising some of the decisions that have been made, it largely focuses on the "golden years" and the positive experiences it brought their viewers. I loved hearing stories about how the writers worked on the show and what inspired them. It was surprisingly emotional at times. And I say this as someone who doesn't generally care about celebrity culture. It's pretty amazing how much came to be just by chance. I appreciated that the book acknowledged the less good side of things (both in terms of work culture and diversity) while celebrating the good. Although I do think that sometimes the big names were given more slack than some of the other people. The narrator did a good job of drawing you into their world. Although I'm sure the text version is just as wonderful, I enjoyed his narration and it added something good to the experience for me. Oh, and I loved the Simpsonesque music. I was hoping for something like it just before I pressed play and am so glad it was included!

I would definitely recommend this to Simpsons fans and those who have nostalgia surrounding the show. I'm not American so I didn't really experience the massive hype that was described surrounding the early years, but I still enjoyed reading about that part. The book makes me want to go back to the older seasons to rewatch with the new information I have about how certain jokes and characters came to be.

(Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I don't think the later seasons deserve as much hate as they sometimes get. Yeah, maybe they aren't memed as much and maybe the show has changed and doesn't hit in exactly the same way it used to, but there are still some beautiful episodes in there)

When I recieved this ARC I was very excited as we had a long drive ahead and my husband and I enjoy listening to audio books today. My husband is a HUGE fan of the Simpsons so this was right up his alley. I thought I would enjoy it but I did not love it. I guess I am not a big enough fan. There was some interesting information but overall I was left board. Meanwhile my husband was LOL and really enjoying the book. If you are a fan of the Simpsons then this book is for you!

As a diehard Simpsons fan, I thought I knew it all but this book was so informative I learned new Simpsons fans that I can't wait to bring up all the time such as "Did you know the Monorail episode was inspired by Conan O'Brien driving through Los Angeles and seeing billboards for an LA monorail that never was constructed?" This audiobook really made me feel like I was there in the Simpsons writing room amidst the cigarette smoke and laughs. I liked the honesty when the newer seasons decline in quality is addressed with a focus still on the "Golden age" a lot of grew up with. This may be the third Simpsons history book I have read and yet it still felt fresh with new insights much like finding a missed gag in the background on your 40th rewatch of an episode.