The humor magazine "National Lampoon" hired Jean and Reiss after they graduated in 1981. During the 1980s, the duo began collaborating on various television material. During this period, they worked as writers and producers on television shows such as "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", "ALF", "Sledge Hammer!" and "It's Garry Shandling's Show". In 1989, Jean was offered a job as a writer on the animated sitcom "The Simpsons", a show created by Matt Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon that continues to air today. Many of Jean's friends were not interested in working on "The Simpsons" because it was a cartoon and they did not think it would last long. Jean, however, was a fan of the work of Groening, Brooks and Simon, and therefore took the job together with Reiss.