Warning: Spoilers ahead.
The final season of the beloved NBC comedy "Parks and Recreation" takes place in the year 2017-- despite the fact that the 13-episode season aired during the spring of 2015. Therefore, it took a lot of guesswork to figure out what this years-away future would look like. Turns out, whilst striving for comedy, they got a pretty accurate vision of what the United States would look like just a few years into the future (except for Gryzlphones, sorry.)
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1. Drones delivering packages:
While not a perfected science, the opening of the first episode involves a drone delivering a package to the doorstep of Ben and Leslie. Amazon has announced that they are working to use a similar delivery system to get their products to people's homes. By the end of the year, it might not be a comedic concept, but a reality.
2. The Supreme Court:
At one point, Leslie proudly shows off a photo she was sent of the Supreme Court justices sipping milkshakes similar to an iconic photo of the cast of Friends. Noticeably absent from the photo, Justice Antonin Scalia. Scalia passed away in early 2016. Parks and Rec apparently was able to anticipate his death which is pretty interesting. Justice Elena Kagan is also missing but that might just be because the photo had six people meaning a justice or two had to be cut out. Or perhaps the show is implying she may also leave the court by the end of year.
3. Members of Congress:
The show did a pretty accurate job of showing off who remains in the Senate during an episode where Leslie and April hold a series of meetings with senators. It predicted John McCain's reelection win against Democratic challenger Ann Kirkpatrick as well as Senator Orrin Hatch's plans to stay in office as opposed to retire.
Senators Cory Booker and Kirstin Gillibrand are also shown to still be around. Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, who gives Leslie advice over waffles, is also still a fixture in Washington (sadly, one of Leslie's heroes, first female Attorney General Janet Reno, who she kept a framed photo of in her office, passed away in late 2016. Leslie must have been crushed).
The show did make one inaccurate prediction though. A scene predicts a meeting between Leslie and Senator Barbara Boxer. Boxer retired early in the year and was replaced by state Attorney General Kamala Harris.
4. Biden did not become president:
Sorry Leslie, looks like the former vice president and her biggest crush didn't make it to the Oval Office. While the show determined that Biden would likely not succeed his boss as leader of the free world, a lot happened to Biden between the episode's filming and the real 2017. His eldest son Beau, passed away from brain cancer, he received the presidential medal of freedom, he would watch as Republican Donald Trump came into office and upend the Obama administration's agenda, and of course, Biden memes.
The show also correctly portrayed Biden as being deeply involved in charity work, his son's death has led him and his wife to get involved in cancer research. It is also mentioned that he wrote a book on his experience riding the rails. Biden spent much of his political career riding the Amtrak train system from Delaware to D.C.
5. Chicago Cubs win World Series:
While it may have been a joke at the time, the Chicago Cubs did indeed win the world series in 2016. While visiting Chicago to visit Lucy, Tom and her have a discussion on the atmosphere of the city. She remarks that "things have been pretty crazy here ever since the Cubs won the World Series." Another pretty amazing prediction.
The final episode features several flash forwards decades into the future. It will be interesting to see what predictions will be true as we enter the 2050's, '60s, '70s and '80s.
