This comprehensive account of the meteoric rise of The Simpsons combines incisive pop culture criticism and interviews with the shows creative team that take readers inside the making of an American phenomenon during its most influential decade, the 1990s.

The Simpsons is an American institution. But its status as an occasionally sharp yet ultimately safe sitcom that’s still going after 36 seasons on the air undercuts its revolutionary origins. The early years of the animated series didn’t just impact Hollywood, they changed popular culture. It wasn’t a watercooler show; it was a show that altered the way we talked around the watercooler, in school hallways, and on the campaign trail, by bridging generations with its comedic sensibility and prescient cultural commentary.

In STUPID TV, BE MORE FUNNY, writer Alan Siegel reveals how the first decade of the show laid the groundwork for the series’ true influence. He explores how the show’s rise from 1990 to 1998 intertwined with the supposedly ascendent post-Cold War America, turning Fox into the juggernaut we know today, simultaneously shaking its head at America’s culture wars while finding itself in the middle of them. By packing the book with anecdotes from icons like Conan OBrien, George Meyer and Yeardley Smith, Siegel also provides readers with an unparalleled look inside the making of the show.

Through interviews with the show’s legendary staff and whip-smart analysis, Siegel charts how The Simpsons developed its singular sensibility throughout the 90s, one that was at once groundbreakingly subversive for a primetime cartoon and shockingly wholesome. The result is a definitive history of The Simpsons’ most essential decade.