“ The Simpsons” may be the most prescient show on television.

In a November 1998 episode, it predicted Disney’s acquisition of what is now 21st Century Fox, a $71.3 billion deal that was finalized Wednesday.

Disney announces it has reached a deal to acquire 21st Century Fox, as predicted by a Simpsons episode that first aired on November 8, 1998. pic.twitter.com/kzloJQHeM8 — Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 14, 2017



Al Jean, a writer for the show, told the New York Times that it was just an idea for the type of deal that could occur. “It happens,” he said. “There's always mergers. It seemed logical, you know?”

“The Simpsons,” which airs on Fox, has a long record of eerily predicting the future, from Super Bowl wins to the presidency of Donald Trump. But maybe its prediction of Disney’s dominance is not so surprising.

In addition to 21st Century Fox, Disney now owns ABC, Lucasfilm (of the “Star Wars” movies), Marvel, and Pixar. As part of the company’s move toward a media monopoly, a little $70 billion purchase was just another step.