10 TV Shows That MOCKED Their Rivals

10. Futurama Mocked The Simpsons

Matt Groening’s other beloved adult animation effort (see us in a few seasons’ time, Netflix’s Disenchantment), Futurama struggled during its original run to emerge from the outsized shadow of its creator’s first and most famous show, despite having a sillier and often darker sensibility which earned it a cult following all of its own after a few shaky seasons.

As a result, the show was always going to address the chip on its shoulder through a little light spoofing, as seen in the episode A Big Piece of Garbage, wherein the Planet Express crew search through a gigantic garbage barge as the title implies and Bender finds a set of Bart Simpson merchandise, prompting him to eat their shorts after a still-functioning toy recites the younger Simpson’s iconic catchphrase.

Of course, many more references to the series abound throughout Futurama’s run, and whilst a few are similar digs at the show’s over-merchandised image such as the sight of more Bart toys in Mars University, a few are sweeter in tone, such as a scrawled “H.S 4 M.B” in Robot Hell which stands for Homer Simpson 4 Marge Bouvier.