People convinced The Simpsons' most terrifying predictions are already happening in 2026

As the new year begins, so do the wild interpretations of some of Matt Groening's craziest plots in The Simpsons.

Fans of the show have long staked claim that its creator has been behind some of the most bizarre things to have taken place on the global stage - most notably, Donald Trump becoming president and the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the sitcom boasting an incredible 37 seasons, featuring around 800 episodes, The Simpsons has accurately anticipated dozens of things - and whether the inspiration comes from a crystal ball in which only Groening possesses, or just sheer luck, we want to know what 2026 has in store for us.

Just last year, viewers credited the show for predicting the downfall of the infamous Labubu dolls - those evil-looking gremlins - and people claimed they were inspired by Pazuzu, a mythological demon originating from ancient Mesopotamia... famous for causing all the fuss in The Exorcist.

As for how The Simpsons is involved with all this, it actually stems from an episode of the show's 'Treehouse of Horror' Halloween series which aired back in 2017.

Anyway, that is soooooo 2025. Let's clip that and look ahead at what 2026 brings.

The 'Osaka Flu'

Fans are convinced The Simpsons have predicted the current outbreak of the flu variant H3N2, from subclade K - which new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed that the majority of illnesses in the US has been tied to this flu season.

The episode Marge in Chains, aired way back in 1993 and featured the 'Osaka Flu' pandemic take over Springfield.

While many have already credited the episode to having predicted the coronavirus pandemic, some believe it specifically points at toward this specific outbreak - which according to the CDC's report, has seen around 11 million people fall ill - 5,000 of which have died, and a further 120,000 hospitalized.

'Smart homes'

In the 12th instalment of The Simpsons' 'Treehouse of Horror' - which premiered in 2001 - Homer upgrades the family home to be more futuristic, but it soon becomes obsessed with Marge and tries to kill her husband after a gypsy placed a curse on him.

Of course, advanced technology has made smart homes very much a thing in 2026, with smart fridges as well as the likes of Alexa plugs that you can ask to turn lights on and off.

In an episode that aired back in 2001, The Simpsons predicted advanced technology will take over our homes... (Getty stock)

World War III

Season six, episode 19 titled 'Lisa's Wedding' sees Lisa's fiancè, Hugh Parkfield, Homer and Bart and visit Moe's Tavern.

Noting Hugh is British, Moe tells him that they 'saved their a** in WW2', to which Hugh responds: "Well, we saved your a**e in WW3." And Moe replies: "That's true."

Whether or not it happens this year, many years in the future or at all - hey, we have to hope don't we - who knows, but The Simpsons hath spoken.

AI taking on human roles

Last, we have a prediction from season 23, episode 17 - 'Them, Robot', which aired back in 2012.

A quick synopsis of it will tell you Mr Burn's fires the majority of his workers and replaces them with robots that end up going bad and turning on Springfield.

It reflects the state of play in the current job market, with AI being used for roles that were previously manned by humans.

In fact, former Google employee Geoffrey Hinton - who has been dubbed the 'Godfather of AI' - is on a mission to raise awareness of the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI).

The 77-year-old left his post at the search engine back in 2023 in a bid to alert people of AI, which he believes is a threat to mankind.