Copyright CinemaBlend
If you’ve watched South Park’s latest run, you’ve probably noticed the show isn’t just dipping a toe into politics, but cannonballing. The long-running animated chaos machine has spent much of the television schedule and Season 28 lampooning the Trump orbit, cable-news hysteria, and the general weirdness of American public life. And according to the guys steering the ship, how fans feel about all that depends on where they’re watching from. Speaking with The New York Times, co-creator Matt Stone, who’s been in New York lately, says strangers keep stopping him to say thanks. And these aren’t typical South Park diehards, but people newly tuned in by the show’s take on MAGA-world. Meanwhile, Parker, home in Colorado, hears something very different: South Park Season 28 has become a neat little Rorschach test. Viewers who see the season as catharsis are cheering; viewers bored or exhausted by politics want Cartman and the gang causing garden-variety municipal disasters again. Same episodes, wildly different vibes depending on your zip code. The irreverent comedy duo said the shift isn’t that South Park “got all political,” so much as politics officially became the culture. The pair described new “taboos” that made the season a magnet for controversy, and, apparently, viewers. Ratings for the past few months have more than doubled compared to the show’s previous season in 2023, per Nielsen cited by the Times. Parker and Stone framed their approach as classic South Park, and that’s to chase whatever the pop culture of the day is. Parker told the outlet that politics crept into every corner of daily life—news, podcasts, social feeds—which made it impossible to pretend the boys could just go back to fart jokes at the bus stop. “Politics became pop culture,” he said, so the show reflected that reality. Season 28’s throughline has Donald Trump expecting a baby with a cartoon Satan (a gleeful throwback to the show’s ‘90s era), a running bit that lets the writers fold Washington headlines into the kids’ misadventures week after week. The creators even admitted they debated swerving back to “traditional” South Park antics, but concluded there’s no dodging the moment, because everywhere you look, it’s politics. South Park’s never picked a single team. The show’s brand has long been equal-opportunity offense, and Parker and Stone reminded the Times they’ve spent years send-uping lefty shibboleths, too. That elastic stance is part of why the current season hits; it doesn’t feel like a lecture. This burst of anti-Trump material hit just as Paramount (Comedy Central’s parent) underwent ownership changes and late-night TV was thrown into chaos. In that media weather, South Park’s swing felt sharper—part middle finger, part mission statement. The South Park machine still moves at dizzying speed. Episodes have been addressing headline events almost in real time—everything from White House drama to shutdown brinkmanship—without, the creators say, new bosses at Paramount trying to rein them in. The result: a season that feels weirdly immediate and, going by the numbers, newly vital this deep into its run. The Times reports viewership has spiked, with entertainment sites breathlessly tracking even minor schedule tweaks. Not bad for a show barreling toward its third decade. Parker and Stone joked they’re in their “disco era,” fully aware the Washington focus won’t last forever. “Next year will be different,” Parker teased, suggesting the show plans to outlast any political moment by being, well, South Park. For now, they’re following the biggest pop-culture story in the country because that’s where the jokes are. Whether you’re in New York, Colorado, or somewhere in between, Season 28 is meeting the moment like only this show can.
