So, Was George Jetson Actually Born in 2022?

 July 31st, 2022, the day George Jetson was born. At least, that's what the internet seems to believe. If you were active on social media at all during that period, I'm sure you saw at least one meme or news article discussing this. But how true is this really? As someone who finished rewatching the show recently and looked far and wide for any hints of his age within it, I thought I'd break this theory down piece by piece, and see how much of it holds weight.

The theory is simple to explain. Its widely believed that the series took place in 2062, one hundred years after its 1962 debut. In the season one episode "Test Pilot", George is told he could live to 150, which prompts him to say he still has 110 years ahead of him. Clearly, that means George's canonical age is 40, placing his birth year at some point in 2022. Case closed, right?

Well, not exactly. For one, it's never actually stated in The Jetsons that the series takes place in the year 2062. So why do people believe such a thing? I chalk it up to material released outside of the show. Several newspaper ads from before the show began (like the one below, which is sourced from Yowp's wonderful blog) explicitly said it took place in 2062, while others simply said it took place "a century or so into the future." Interestingly enough, Hanna-Barbera put out a greeting card for New Year's 1963 with the Jetsons family featured. In it, they celebrate the arrival of 2063. So while it is never stated in the show that it is set in 2062 (likely a deliberate move to help keep the show timeless), I think it's a safe bet that the show does indeed take place at this point in time.

Unfortunately, the case of George's age is not nearly as simple. While we can infer that George's age is 40 from what we're told in the aforementioned episode, another episode in the series flat-out tells us his age, and it is not 40. In the season two episode "Boy George", after being turned into a child, George tells an officer that he is really 38. Okay, so he's 38, right? That might not be the case, either! One of the bonus features included on the DVD and Blu-Ray releases of the original series is a collection of character bios for each member of the Jetsons family. These include their hobbies, occupations, and of course, their ages. George is listed as "mid-30s", which contradicts both of the previously mentioned ages. I don't know where this was sourced from, but given that the ages of the other characters line up with what we know from the show (for example, Elroy is listed as being 6 1/2 years old, which we know from the first episode), I believe there's got to be some sort of nugget of truth to this.

Lastly, this theory states that George was born on July 31st, and to be completely honest with you all, I have no idea where this comes from. The date holds no significance to the Jetsons in any way whatsoever. No episode premiered on that date, it doesn't factor into the story of an episode, and it doesn't even line up with the actual birthdate of George's voice actor, George O'Hanlon. Could it be that George was born on the 31st of July? Sure, but I see no reason to believe that's any more possible than him being born on any of the other 364 days of the year.

And there you have it. While it looks like the Jetsons did probably take place in 2062, George's actual birth year seems a lot sketchier. Given that two different official sources list him as still being in his thirties though, I think we can safely say he is not 40 years old, and as such, was not born last year. Remember folks, don't always believe what you see on the internet!