Top 10 Times Sitcoms Predicted the Future
#10: Blinky the Three-Eyed Fish
“The Simpsons” (1989-)
This is one of the stranger predictions of the many that occurred on “The Simpsons,” and it was one that we definitely never thought we’d see in real life. Way back in season 2, Blinky the three-eyed fish was caught by Bart and whose mutation was caused by the nuclear waste from the power plant. We see Blinky a few times throughout the series, and the idea of this mutation coming from nuclear waste seemed too ridiculous to be true. But, in 2011, years after Blinky first graced our screens, an actual three-eyed fish was discovered in Argentina. Where was this fish located, you ask? Near a nuclear power plant. Matt Groening, just know that we see you.
#9: Hyde Goes to Jail
“That ‘70s Show” (1998-2006)
Danny Masterson played Steven Hyde, the rebellious but loveable bad boy of “That ‘70s Show” who seemed destined to be a jailbird. But in real life, Masterson turned out to be far darker than even what we were seeing from him on our television screens. In the show, he is arrested for possession when he covers for Jackie, and throughout the series he makes a lot of references to being doomed to spend his life in prison. But fast-forward to 2023, and Masterson has actually been sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for terrible crimes, and that’s no sitcom joke.
#8: Border Wall
“Arrested Development” (2003-06; 2013-19)
George and Lucille Bluth were some of the most entertaining characters in this comedy, but who would’ve thought one of their schemes would eventually actually kinda play out in real life? During the show’s fourth season, we witness the first of many references to the wall that the Bluths are trying to build between Mexico and the United States. The first reference to the wall on the show was years before Donald Trump pushed the idea during his presidential campaign. As we know, Trump continued to try to build a wall during his time in the Oval Office, and how could the “Arrested Development” writers resist poking fun at their prediction?
#7: Cubs Win the World Series
“Parks and Recreation” (2009-15; 2020)
“Back to the Future: Part II” came close with their prediction that the Cubs would win the world series, but “Parks and Recreation” really hit it out of the park. During an episode that takes place in a flash-forward in 2017, Tom and Andy learn from Lucy that everyone in Chicago is feeling good after the Cubs’ World Series win. It doesn’t seem like a monumental scene when you’re watching the show, but in hindsight it’s definitely a fun moment to rewatch, considering the Cubs won the Series in 2016.. This makes us wonder what else will come true from this show’s predictions, and we can only hope that Leslie Knope will actually be President one day.
#6: Facebook
“Friends” (1994-2004)
While social networking sites had been around for a few years by the time this “Friends” episode premiered, one everyone hadn’t seen yet was Facebook. While the website now is open to anyone who wants an account, Mark Zuckerberg originally created it for college students. In “The One with the Memorial Service,” Ross and Chandler stumble upon a site where they can keep in contact with their former classmates, which leads to a hilarious slew of posts from each of them about the other one. This came out one year before Zuckerberg’s creation, and who knows, maybe this episode sparked some inspiration for him.
#5: Colonel Gaddafi
“Second Chance” (1987-88)
Many people are not familiar with this short-lived sitcom or the strange prediction it made, which makes this whole thing that much more bizarre. In the first scene of the first episode of “Second Chance,” we see Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the former ruler of Libya, after his death. In the episode, which premiered in 1987, we see Gaddafi’s future date of demise as July 29th, 2011. In reality, he died on October 20th, 2011. To make this whole situation just as unbelievable as possible, he even died in real life the same way he did in the show – from several gunshots. Honestly, we can’t even wrap our heads around this one, even though it was just a crazy coincidence.
#4: Harvey Weinstein
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“30 Rock” (2006-13; 2020)
While this series was known for its witty humor and memorable one-liners, some of the seemingly throwaway jokes on this sitcom actually had some ominous truths beneath them. Not once, but twice, Jenna talks about her experiences with Harvey Weinstein, once mentioning that she’s turned down his advances a few times and talks about being trapped underneath him at a party. Considering Weinstein’s later conviction that landed him in jail, these “30 Rock” moments are pretty jarring, and we wince to think about where these so-called jokes may have originated from.
#3: Kevin Spacey
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“Family Guy” (1999-)
We aren’t sure how “Family Guy” predicted this way back in 2005. In the season 4 episode “Don’t Make Me Over”, a decidedly unclothed Stewie runs across the mall claiming that he just escaped from Spacey’s basement. In 2017, dozens of individuals came forward accusing Spacey of sexual misconduct. In two lawsuits that followed, Spacey was cleared of wrongdoing. We don’t know what the “Family Guy” writers had in mind when writing this scene, but the passing joke seems to anticipate the accusations against the actor that came out over a decade later.
#2: Bin Laden in Pakistan
Top 10 Times TV Shows Predicted the Future
“Scrubs” (2001-10)
The janitor on this show was already a mysterious character, as we didn’t even know his name until the original series finale of the show. So, him making this comment about Osama Bin Laden, is quite astonishing. In a season six episode, he says that he thinks the search for Bin Laden should be focused on Pakistan, and years later, that’s exactly where Bin Laden was found. The hunt for Osama Bin Laden had been going on for a long time by the time he was captured, so how did the “Scrubs” writing team know his whereabouts when even the United States government didn’t? Only the janitor knows for sure.
#1: President Trump
“The Simpsons” (1989-)
The collective braintrust behind “The Simpsons” clearly have some psychic abilities that us mere mortals will simply never understand. Way back in season eleven, “The Simpsons” aired an episode in which future Lisa becomes President of the United States. While she’s in the Oval Office, she mentions how Donald Trump’s presidency caused debt for the country, and Lisa was left to pick up the pieces. This episode premiered back in the year 2000, when Trump’s presidential run was not on anyone’s radar. Even Matt Groening admitted he didn’t think Trump would really become president when he was campaigning in 2016, but we can only assume that Groening was just trying to throw us off his track.
Let us know which one of these sitcoms predictions gave you the creeps in the comments!
