After decades of on-the-money predictions, “The Simpsons” producer David Mirkin is revealing the one that the writers couldn’t fathom actually coming true.
“Yes, predicting Donald Trump would be president is still one of the funniest predictions we ever made,” the 69-year-old exclusively told The Post at Vulture Festival.
But Mirkin also has an all-time favorite prediction that he wouldn’t mind taking over the Oval Office.
“I think Lisa as president is a great one,” he quipped, “and I still believe that will happen, so that’s something everybody can look forward to!”
As for why they come true so frequently? Well, Mirkin wants viewers to know there’s a top-secret reason.
“You know, this is kind of a secret I don’t tell everybody,” the producer joked with a straight face. “But people ask, how do we do that, how do we predict … Various times in the writers room, time travelers appear, tell us things, just to put in the show and mess with people’s minds, and it works perfectly!”
And Mirkin made it clear there will never be a topic the writers shy away from.
“We always try and go after anything that’s important,” he admitted. “Anything that people care about, there is a way to approach it with humor and compassion and empathy and incredible meanness all at the same time.
“Everybody always has their own ideas, everybody has their own opinions and it’s all completely valid, except people who don’t like the show — they are wrong!”
With 32 seasons under his belt, having started with the animated series in 1992 in Season 5, Mirkin knows exactly what keeps the fans coming back for more.
“It’s just an incredible desire for all of us at ‘The Simpsons’ to keep making money, so I think that creates this enormous energy that pulls people in because our greed is that powerful,” teased the comedy genius as he cracked a smile.
“It’s about a family and how families struggle and don’t work that well,” the producer said on a serious note. “So, everyone with a messed-up family loves ‘The Simpsons’ and everyone has a messed-up family. So, again, very successful show!”
Moving forward? As Mirkin put it, “We would like to go another 36 seasons, but the world will not exist that long, so that’s the only sad [part]. I mean our next prediction is going to be the end of the earth, but you’ll see — it’s coming up!”
And for the many young writers out there who dream of working on a sitcom just like “The Simpsons,” the director has some sound advice.
“Get into something that actually pays better,” he quipped. “I feel so bad for young writers. It is much harder now than it was for me coming up. It’s harder now and there are a lot of writers who have to take jobs outside of the industry while they are actually working on hit shows.
“The advice is you have to love it,” Mirkin said. “The way I got into this is I had absolutely no other choice. I am completely useless at anything else but this. So, if you find yourself totally useless in the world at anything but writing comedy, that’s how you get into it.”
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