Who hasn’t seen an episode of The Simpsons? The animated series featuring Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie has not only carved out its place in television history, but also gained a reputation for its uncanny ability to predict the future.
Fans of the long-running FOX show have marveled for years at how its writers seem to have a knack for forecasting significant world events: from Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox to Donald Trump’s presidency, and more recently, the rise of Vice President Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate. With so many seemingly accurate predictions, The Simpsons has earned a cult-like status as TV’s fortune-teller.
The Real Method Behind the Magic
However, the show’s creators insist that the phenomenon isn’t as mystical or glamorous as it seems. “Well, the grumpy answer I always give, which nobody likes, is that if you study history and math, it would literally be impossible for us not to predict things,” said Matt Selman, The Simpsons showrunner and executive producer, in an exclusive interview with People. “If you say enough things, some will overlap with reality, and that’s the math element. The historical element is that if you make a show based on studying the follies of past humanity, you’re certainly going to anticipate future follies as humanity continues to sink deeper into its rightful foolishness.”
Currently, The Simpsons boasts an impressive 34 correct predictions of future events, according to Selman. He has been with the show since 1997, starting as a writer. While the team behind the show embraces their reputation as accidental prophets, Selman admits there is one thing they hate: when “fans post obviously fake images online and say, ‘We predicted things we never actually predicted.’”
“It was better when the predictions were only about real, horrible events, and not people faking that we predicted horrible things,” he added. Selman also finds it “depressing and discouraging that people want the magic to be so true that they just start making up scenarios that never appeared on the show.”
A Series Rooted in Satirical Wisdom
The Simpsons, created by Matt Groening, first aired on FOX on December 17, 1989. The show quickly became a cultural touchstone, with Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, and Harry Shearer rounding out its main voice cast.
While fans may continue to believe in the show’s ability to predict the future, Selman’s comments remind us that sometimes, it’s a mixture of satire, historical awareness, and a little bit of luck that make The Simpsons seem like TV’s soothsayers. After all, as history tends to repeat itself, so too do humanity’s mistakes—and The Simpsons are always there to poke fun at them.
