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Parks and Recreation, a popular sitcom that ran from 2009-2015, was a fan favorite for pretty much its entirety. For the show’s last few episodes, which took place in the future, writers had to “predict” certain events that would take place, since things obviously weren’t being filmed in real time. And they got one shocking thing right, similar to the way The Simpsons has been able to make surprising predictions through the years.

The 'Parks and Rec.' cast celebrates their 100th episode
The ‘Parks and Rec.’ cast celebrates their 100th episode | Michael Tran/FilmMagic

‘Parks and Recreation’ ended with the character’s futures

For seven seasons, fans followed their favorite Pawnee, Indiana township employees throughout the trials and tribulations of every day adult life. Then, in season 7, producers switched things up and told the characters’ stories as though they were set in 2017 rather than 2015, when filming occurred.

The season sees the cast leaving their jobs at Pawnee’s Town Hall and taking on future endeavors. Certain cast members, such as Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones) and Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe) had already been written out of the show the previous season, selling the story that the two had opted to move back to Perkins’ home state of Michigan.

The show predicted the 2016 Chicago Cubs World Series win

During season 7, the writers had to essentially predict some of the world’s events, since filming was happening in 2015, but the show was set in the future. And more than a year after the show concluded, fans realized that writers had predicted the shocking Chicago Cubs World Series win in 2016.

The 'Parks and Recreation' cast
The ‘Parks and Recreation’ cast | Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
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In episode two, Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) visits his ex in Chicago, where she comments that people in the city have become much nicer since the Cubs won the World Series (presumably in 2016). The most surprising part of the prediction is that it’s something nobody saw coming and was likely meant to be a joke, as the Cubs hadn’t won a World Series in more than 100 years before their 2016 victory. But rather than it be a comical dig at the baseball team, the writers’ prediction came true. 

‘The Simpsons’ has made many shocking predictions through the years

Does that one wild card prediction put Parks and Rec. in the same league as The Simpsons? Probably not, but the two shows will always share that similarity. The Simpsons, which has been running on Fox for more than 30 years, has made a series of predictions that have turned out to be true, giving the show a reputation of predicting the future.

Perhaps the show’s most notable prediction was Donald Trump’s presidency. According to Hollywood Reporter, the show initially meant to poke fun at the now-president, and writers were certainly shocked when Trump won the 2016 election. Writers also predicted events such as the FIFA corruption scandal, certain Olympic events, and Lady Gaga wearing an eerily similar outfit to the 2017 Super Bowl as she was seen wearing in the show in 2012.

There have been dozens of times when The Simpsons has correctly predicted the future to Parks and Rec.’s one correct time, but still, that World Series prediction holds a lot of weight.     

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