The Simpsons is known for making eerie predictions – but how many will it get right in 2026?
The beloved show, which first aired in 1989, has forecast a series of major world events over the years, including both Joe Biden and Donald Trump becoming president, Twitter turning into X, Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl performance, and even covid.
And the predictions for this year are no less outlandish. Read on to discover the events that could become a reality in 2026.
The end is AI: The Simpsons forecast tech replacing humans in the episode Them, Robot, 2012
AI stealing humans’ jobs
In a 2012 episode of The Simpsons titled Them, Robot, AI becomes more powerful and replaces the jobs of people in Springfield – the town where the show is based.
Mr Burns replaces most of the plant’s employees with robots, who end up turning on him before the employees he laid off come to his rescue.
Last year saw more people embracing AI – from ChatGPT to Google Gemini – to solve and workshop everything from diets and workouts to therapy.
Some companies are also now incorporating it into the workplace, with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon telling Fox News that AI ‘will eliminate jobs’ – but it’s not a reason to panic.
Dimon said in December: ‘That doesn’t mean that people won’t have other jobs.
‘My advice to people would be critical thinking. Learn skills. Learn how to be good at communicating, how to write. You’ll have plenty of jobs.’
Gripping forecast: In 1994, The Simpsons predicted space travel would be offered to civilians
Space tourism
In 1994, The Simpsons suggested space travel for the general public as a possibility by sending Homer into space.
In the season 5 episode, titled Deep Space Homer, the donut lover sent in a shuttle with astronaut Buzz Aldrin as part of NASA’s public relations effort to make space travel more exciting to the general public.
Meanwhile, a 2014 episode saw Sir Richard Branson relaxing in space, only to fast-forward to 2021, which saw the businessman, 75, launch himself into the final frontier.
In reality, last year, an all-female crew, including singer Katy Perry, journalist Gayle King, and activist Amanda Nguyen, embarked on a brief suborbital trip to space – which was met with fierce backlash.
The Blue Origin flight was widely criticized for its environmental impact, but the space trip could signal the beginning of an increase in space tourism.
Cold comfort: The Simpsons depicted a mass health crisis in episode Marge In Chains, 1993
New superflu will hit
Multiple U.S. states are seeing ‘skyrocketing’ cases of a new superflu strain, with the CDC showing a ‘very high’ transmission of influenza in New York City.
Perhaps we should be wary going forward, with The Simpsons predicting a health crisis more than 30 years ago – and the social consequences that came with it.
In a 1993 episode titled Marge In Chains, a fictional virus spreads from Japan to Springfield via shipping crates.
The episode also deconstructs the social breakdown that comes with the widespread panic from the disease, with the town rioting for the cure, which was Marge’s baked goods.
Smart technology running homes
Technology has long seeped into our everyday lives – but it turns out The Simpsons had explored the idea of smart homes many years ago.
In the 2001 episode Treehouse of Horror XII, the eponymous family moves into a voice-controlled house that manages their daily lives.
However, the home becomes more dangerous the longer they live there, which could be a warning for everyone fitting out their homes with smart technology.
Environmental disasters
Environmental crises have come up multiple times throughout the history of The Simpsons.
In the 1992 episode Homer The Heretic, a severe blizzard hits Springfield, while in The Simpsons Movie, the town experiences an ecological disaster caused by toxic waste dumped into a lake.
With the first few days of the year seeing a ‘cross-country storm’ threatening millions across the country, The Simpsons could be on to something once again.
Supernatural sign: In the 1997 episode The Springfield Files, Homer claims he saw an alien
Aliens coming to Earth
In the 1997 episode titled The Springfield Files, two FBI agents investigate Homer’s claim that he saw an alien.
And discovering extraterrestrial life on Earth may not be far away.
In 2025, one of Britain’s top space scientists declared she is ‘absolutely convinced’ there are aliens out there – and they will be found within the next 50 years.
Doom and gloom: In Thank God, It’s Doomsday Homer is convinced the world is about to end
End of the world
In a season 16 episode, called Thank God, It’s Doomsday, 2005, Homer becomes convinced the world is about to end after watching a film about the Rapture.
Homer calculates the date of the Rapture, leading him to believe the world will end in a week, causing him to gain followers.
However, his prediction fails, and he realizes he made a calculation error and has a short time left, which results in him ascending to heaven alone and convincing God to postpone the apocalypse for everyone else.
World War III prediction
Since The Simpsons first aired, there have been several references to World War III.
In one 1987 short, Homer is convinced that a third world war has started and insists the family head to a homemade shelter for protection.
In 1995, in a season 6 episode from Lisa’s Wedding, Lisa’s British fiance Hugh Parkfield visits Moe’s Tavern with Homer and Bart in the future, where they mention the Second World War – and reference a subsequent global conflict.
Moe acknowledges that Hugh is British and tells him that they ‘saved their a** in WW2.’
In response, Hugh says: ‘Well, we saved your a**e in WW3,’ to which Moe responds, ‘That’s true.’
