In the final segment, Chief Wiggum is dressed as Jared Fogle and is quoted saying "I'm Jared from the Subway commercials. I'm a little overweight and sexually ambiguous". In 2015 (10 years after this episode aired) Jared was arrested and sentenced to over 15 years in jail for possession of indecent child images and more, making this quotation a chilling prediction of Jared's future.
Homer suggesting they make the robot's head explode using the phrase "this statement is a lie" is a reference to the episode "I, Mudd" of the original Star Trek, in which Kirk and Harry Mudd defeat a robot with that phrase.
The middle segment is loosely based on the classic short story "The Most Dangerous Game."
During the cold open, Kodos warns that the fabric of the universe may shatter, and Kang replies, "Good. Only then could the Cubs finally win!" The Cubs ended a drought of 71 years after winning in 2016 (11 years after this episode). Interestingly, the Red Sox had just ended their 86 year drought in 2004 (one year before this episode).