Long-running animated series The Simpsons is known for making eerie predictions – and 2026 is seemingly no exception.
The beloved show, which first aired in 1989, boasts many episodes that have gone on to echo a slew of major world events years – and sometimes even decades – later.
It predicted both Joe Biden and Donald Trump becoming president, Twitter turning into X, Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl performance, and even COVID-19.
And the predictions for this coming year are no less outlandish.
In 2026, fans are focusing on storylines linked to World War Three, a new type of super flu, AI taking over in the workplace, smart homes and even aliens.
While some of the predictions were not tied to specific dates, eagle-eyed viewers have correlated them with recent events that could indicate they are just on the horizon.
Below, the Daily Mail looks at the episodes that could spell out a very interesting year ahead.
AI taking over jobs
In a 2012 episode of The Simpsons titled Them, Robot, AI gets more powerful and takes over the jobs of people in Springfield – the town where the show is based.
In season 23, 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.
‘That doesn’t mean that people won’t have other jobs,’ he said last month.
‘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.’
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, where we see the businessman, 74, 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.
New superflu will hit
Multiple US 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.
The episode also resurfaced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Smart technology will take over our 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 house 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.
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.
End of the world
In a season 16 episode, called Thank God, It’s Doomsday, 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 fiancé, 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.’
