How 'The Simpsons' Got the Disney/Fox Merger Right, 20 Years Ago
The show predicted the monopolizing merger almost two decades ago.
Yet another prophecy from The Simpsons has come true in the form of the newly confirmed Disney & Fox merger, because insanely, the show accurately predicted the merger almost 20 years ago.
The Simpsons aired an episode in 1998 called “When You Dish Upon a Star” in its 10th season. Homer accidentally parasails into the bedroom of Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, who moved to Springfield but struggle to avoid paparazzi. Typical Simpsons shenanigans ensue, and in the episodes closing minutes, Ron Howard steals one of Homer’s script ideas and pitches it to 20th Century Fox.
But when we see the 20th Century Fox billboard, it has some prophetic fine print at the bottom: “A Division of Walt Disney Co.”
When Disney’s upcoming acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s assets was confirmed early Thursday morning, it took fans of The Simpsons no time at all to quickly share the screenshot from the episode, which probably means that the Twitter user realized the connection weeks ago and was sitting there patiently waiting for the deal to be announced.
One writer for Newsweek also noticed early this morning, but CNN entertainment/media reporter Frank Pallotta was seemingly the first to point it out:
The official announcement that Disney would purchase 21st Century Fox assets came very early Thursday morning, saying that the two companies have “entered into a definitive agreement” — which essentially means the negotiations have settled on the value of $52.4 billion but things might not be completely final just yet.
The Simpsons executive producer James L. Brooks offered warm words of welcome following the formal announcement of the acquisition:
In the past, The Simpsons has accurately predicted autocorrect, FaceTime, the Presidency of Donald Trump, smart watches, and Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl halftime show.
What’s the next in the growing catalog of real-world events predicted by The Simpsons? We’ll have to wait and see what’s next.
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