At this stage, it’s kind of scary how many times The Simpsons has “predicted” the future. The writers of the legendary animated show have been filling the series with crazy situations for decades – situations that turned out to be not so crazy when they, or something similar happened, in the real world. Like Donald Trump becoming President, the Disney/Fox merger or the end of Game of Thrones.
Now that the world is in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic, it turns out The Simpsons has already practically predicted that, too. Former showrunner Mike Reiss shared a YouTube video on Twitter over the weekend that points to the way 1993’s “Marge in Chains” resembles the COVID-19 outbreak. The evidence was so irrefutable that even he had to admit the truth.
The whole 'Simpsons predicted it' thing is silly, but the Simpsons predicted it.https://t.co/aUdEw2cfUZ
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReissWriter) March 14, 2020
The 21st episode of season 4 begins with the people of Springfield becoming obsessed with a new line of blenders called “Juice Looseners,” which are made in Osaka, Japan. The trouble is the workers on the production line are suffering from the flu and their germs infect the products, so when the townsfolk use their new blenders, “Osaka Flu” spreads like wildfire. The main story kicks off when Marge, feeling drained by the illness, forgets to pay for an item at the Kwik-E-Mart, landing her in jail.
This isn’t even the first time that the internet has realized a connection between the pandemic and The Simpsons. Earlier this week, Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson revealed that they’ve both contracted the virus while in Australia. Shortly after, fans pointed to Hanks’ cameo in The Simpsons Movie now having different connotations, as he ends his skit saying: “This is Tom Hanks saying if you see me in person, please let me be.”
Has the government put a giant glass dome around anywhere to contain coronavirus yet? According to The Simpsons, it’s bound to happen soon.