Summary
AlthoughThe Simpsonshas never been consistent with its canon, the show has offered nine distinct glimpses into the future of its titular family. Sometimes it seems as ifThe Simpsonswill never end.The Simpsonsseason 36arrives later in 2024, adding to the show’s massive catalog of episodes.The Simpsonshave aired over 760 episodes since 1989 and, sincethe Simpsons never age, the show can continue these adventures for any number of years. However, this same bonus can be a limitation for the series as it means there is one story the show can’t tell.
Since the Simpson family doesn’t age, this means the show can’t look into the future of the Simpson children. At least, that would appear to be the case. Despite this obvious problem,The Simpsonshas repeatedly aired future-set episodes that reveal how Bart and Lisa’s futures pan out. Some of these, like season 6, episode 19, “Lisa’s Wedding,” or season 16, episode 15, “Future-Drama,” are set in far-flung futures like 2010 and 2013. The fact that these futures are now the distant past doesn’t matter sinceThe Simpsonshas an ever-shifting canon that allows the show to rewrite its history constantly.
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9Lisa’s Wedding
The Simpsons’ First Future Episode Outlines Lisa’s Engagement
A few early episodes ofThe Simpsonsoffered a momentary glimpse into the future of the show’s heroes. Season 4, episode 6, “Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie,” revealed that Bart became Chief Justice of the United States in 2032. However, these brief vignettes don’t count as part of the show’s ever-evolving depiction of the family’s future fates since they are typically one-off gags. The first instance ofThe Simpsonsdevoting an entire episode to the future of the family comes in “Lisa’s Wedding.” Here,Lisa falls for Mandy Patinkin’s pretentious university student Hugh,and brings him to Springfield to meet her family.
Lisa calls off her wedding to Hugh and stands up for her family.
Hugh and Lisa’s romance ends in a canceled wedding when Hugh announces that he expects Lisa to disown her family due to Homer’s crude, loutish antics. Like many ofLisa’s best episodes ofThe Simpsons, the outing pits Lisa against her family and forces her to choose a side. Instead of staying with her snooty intellectual fiancé, Lisa calls off her wedding to Hugh and stands up for her family. Not a lot else is revealed about the family’s future in this outing, although eight later episodes of the series would flesh out their fates further.
“Bart to the Future” provided viewers with one of the show’s most unlikely and impressive future predictions.
8Bart To The Future
This Season 12 Outing Reveals Lisa Becomes President
The cultural impact of season 11, episode 17, “Bart to the Future,” is tough to overstate. With a throwaway line about inheriting a major deficit from “President Trump,” “Bart to the Future” provided viewers with one of the show’s most unlikely and impressive future predictions. As a result, the episode itself is often overshadowed. It shouldn’t be, since “Bart to the Future” is filled with insights into the future of all the show’s main characters. Most notably,Lisa becomes President of the United Stateswhile Bart is in a failing band with Ralph Wiggum. Surprisingly, the two storylines do intersect.
Lisa is also revealed to be married to Milhouse in this episode.
Bart’s skill at evading creditors comes in handy as Lisa scrambles to keep America’s international backers from getting angry. Lisa is also revealed to be married to Milhouse in this episode, although this will be repeatedly retconned in later episodes. Bart and Ralph work at a bar owned by Nelson, whose own role in Lisa’s future isn’t mentioned in this outing. Meanwhile, Ned Flanders is still kind enough to loan Bart money, although even he can’t stop Ralph and Bart from losing their accommodation thanks to missed rent payments. Unfortunately, Bart’s future doesn’t get much brighter from this episode onward.
7Future-Drama
Bart’s Future Love Interest Jenda Is Introduced In Season 16
While someclassic episodes ofThe Simpsonscenter Lisa and Bart instead of Marge and Homer, “Future-Drama” proves that the duo’s stories aren’t always so compelling. Set near Lisa and Bart’s graduation, “Future-Drama” finds Lisa dating Milhouse and Bart dating the demanding Jenda.Bart almost gets a scholarship to attend Yale instead of Lisa, but ends up giving the scholarship to his sister and breaking up with Jenda. Meanwhile, Marge and Homer’s first separation is revealed in this episode, with Marge temporarily leaving Homer after he blows their savings into an underwater house. The pair reconcile in the episode’s ending.
Bart is revealed to be divorced from Jenda, with whom he has two sons.
6Holidays of Future Passed
This Outing Reveals That Milhouse and Lisa Have A Daughter
Although “Future-Drama” is a lesser outing, season 23, episode 9, “Holidays of Future Passed,” more than makes up for the episode. Set in 2041, this episode sees Bart and Lisa return home to their parent’s house with their own children for Christmas. Bart is revealed to be divorced from Jenda, with whom he has two sons. Lisa is married to Milhouse and has one teenage daughter, Zia, with whom she struggles to connect.Bart lives in an apartment at the former Springfield Elementarywhere Principal Skinner is his landlord. Maggie, meanwhile, is a successful singer and pregnant with her first child.
“Holidays of Future Passed” proves theGolden Age ofThe Simpsonswill never be entirely over with its moving scenes of Bart and Lisa bonding over their flawed parenting. Homer’s imperfect reunion with a cryogenically frozen Grampa, as well as Bart’s own reconciliation with his father, provided the show with some of its most poignant moments in years. In this regard, “Holidays of Future Passed” functions as a potential series finale by showing a messy but fitting fate for the eponymous family. Despite this, five subsequent episodes expanded on the future of the Simpson clan with varying degrees of success.
5Days of Future Future
Bart And Lisa’s Futures Became Bleaker In This Outing
Season 25, episode 18, “Days of Future Future,” is set thirty years in the future. In the outing,Bart undergoes an experimental procedure to rid him of memories of his ex-wife Jenda. Meanwhile, Lisa grapples with the question of whether to cure Milhouse’s zombie bite or keep him as a zombie, and Marge struggles with Homer’s repeated cloning and many deaths. This uneven outing ends with Bart alone, Lisa married to a zombified Milhouse, and Marge replacing Homer’s body with a robotic one. In this disposable outing,few longstandingSimpsonsmysteriesare answered by a glimpse into the family’s future.
4Barthood
This Boyhood Parody Focuses On Bart and Lisa’s Relationship
Season 27, episode 9, “Barthood,” parodies director Richard Linklater’sBoyhoodwith a story of Bart struggling with Lisa overshadowing his achievements. For much of this episode’s run-time, the fact that it is set in the future is tangential. This allows the show to jump forward in time and illustrate new aspects of Bart and Lisa’s struggle, butThe Simpsonsdoesn’t reveal much about the family’s future in the episode.Bart resents Lisa outshining him at every turnbut eventually accepts that only he can validate his own achievements, becoming a successful BMX biker and artist as a result.
Lisa dates both Milhouse and Nelson at different points in her formative years.
One thing this outing does reveal is that Lisa dates both Milhouse and Nelson at different points in her formative years. This becomes important later in the show’s history as earlier episodes depicted future versions of Lisa exclusively dating or married to Milhouse. Although season 8, episode 7, “Lisa’s Date with Density,” did see Lisa briefly date Nelson Muntz, this subplot wasn’t revived until “Barthood.” In subsequent versions of the character’s future, Lisa’s eventual romantic partner changed. However, this was not the only element of her life story that was frequently contested by different future-set episodes of the series.
3Mr. Lisa’ Opus
Lisa’s Choice of College Is Confirmed in This Episode
In season 29, episode 8, “Mr. Lisa’ Opus,”The Simpsonsoffered a Lisa-centric spin on “Barthood.” Confusingly, this episode’s timeline depicts Lisa as a baby in 2010, despite “Lisa’s Wedding” depicting her as a college student the same year. However, if viewers disregard timeline continuity, the rest of“Mr. Lisa’ Opus” focuses on Lisa saving Homer and Marge’s marriage by convincing Homer to quit drinking. She then attended Harvard after graduating from high school. WhileThe Simpsonshas relied excessively on familiar charactersin some recent seasons, this outing includes one notable addition to the ever-growing supporting cast.
Lisa and Valerie are heavily implied to share a romantic relationship.
Kat Dennings’s Valerie is Lisa’s roommate at Harvard, where Lisa stays despite uncertainty after Bart convinces her that she has a bright future ahead of her. Lisa and Valerie are heavily implied to share a romantic relationship when Lisa calls her a friend “More than a friend” in the episode. This complicates Lisa’s romantic future as she has now been paired off with Valerie, Milhouse, and Nelson. However, Lisa’s choice of college is even more contentious. Here, she attends Harvard but, in “Lisa’s Wedding,” she went to university in England. This will only grow more complicated in later outings.
Bart is a successful CEO in this version of the future, rather than a struggling artist.
2Mother and Child Reunion
This Outing Explained Why Lisa Avoided College And Became President
Like “Mr. Lisa’s Opus,” season 32, episode 12, “Mother and Child Reunion,” focuses on Lisa’s future choice of college. However, “Mother and Child Reunion” contradicts numerous earlier episodes by revealing thatLisa never went to college at all. In this outing, Lisa ignores Marge’s fears and becomes an advocate for better schools instead of attending Harvard, Yale, or an English university. This drives a wedge between the duo, but their fight is eventually settled when Lisa becomes the President of the United States. Notably, Bart is a successful CEO in this version of the future, rather than a struggling artist.
1When Nelson Met Lisa
This Episode Details Nelson And Lisa’s Tumultuous Relationship Timeline
While even Marge finds it hard to downplay Lisa’s achievement when she becomes president, the character’s next future-set episode is less concerned with her career potential. Instead, season 34, episode 9,“When Nelson Met Lisa,” centers on Lisa’s love life. Although Lisa does consider dating Milhouse in this outing and spends a long time with Hubert Wong, she eventually ends up back with her childhood sweetheart, Nelson. Thus,The Simpsonsfinally answered the mystery of who Lisa ended up with even though her choice of college, the fate of her parent’s marriage, and Bart’s prospects are all still up for debate.
