South Park Season 27 Takes The Internet By Storm, Here’s The Complete Breakdown
The first two episodes of South Park’s season 27 have taken the internet by storm due to addressing Donald Trump’s administration. Read on to learn more.
Record Viewership for South Park Season 27 as Episodes Target Trump, ICE, and Media ( Photo Credit – Instagram )
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South Park continues to draw widespread public attention thanks to the series’ biting satire of the Donald Trump administration in season 27. The series has been a runaway success with its viewership, with the season’s second episode crossing 6.2 million viewers across both Comedy Central and the Paramount+ streaming service. The season premiere was no slouch in viewership either, garnering 6 million views upon release.
According to Deadline, the cable viewership of South Park has reached its highest numbers since all the way back in 2018. Per reporting from Nielsen, the second episode of season 27 has outperformed the premiere by 54% in the 18-49 age demographic.
South Park’s Political Commentary Proves A Hit
South Park’s decision to address the controversies of the current Trump administration seems to be paying dividends. The show’s 27th season has so far aired two episodes, “Sermon on the Mount” and “Got a Nut”.
Showrunners Trey Parker and Matt Stone had originally made the decision not to cover the 2024 elections in the series, which was why season 27 didn’t air in 2024. However, with Donald Trump’s presidency now well underway, the show is garnering widespread attention for not being afraid to take jabs at the current president.
Donald Trump’s portrayal in South Park harkens back to how the series once covered Saddam Hussein in the movie Bigger, Longer and Uncut. Trump is portrayed as a manipulative narcissist picking fights with Canada. Just like Saddam, Trump also has an affair with the series version of Satan, with Satan poking at Trump’s insecurity about the Epstein files controversy.
The Series Takes Jabs At Immigration And Customs Enforcement
Going into the second episode of Season 27, South Park turns its attention to Trump’s controversial immigration policy. This plotline is explored through Mr. Mackey, the school counsellor, who ends up taking a job at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after budget cuts cost him his counsellor job.
The episode also takes a dig at Paramount itself, which is the parent company of Comedy Central and the Paramount+ streaming service. When participating in ICE’s crackdown on immigrants, Mr. Mackey ends up raiding a stage show for Dora the Explorer, which is an iconic Nickelodeon cartoon.
The episode also features the current Department of Homeland Security head Kristi Noem, and the show lampoons real-life controversies she has faced, including her admitting to killing a dog in her memoir, which is reflected in how Noem causally guns down defenseless dogs in this episode.
The South Park episode also takes jabs at the right-wing media ecosystem, with Eric Cartman feuding with Clyde Donovan over the latter’s podcast, which Cartman feels is a rip-off of his own work. This feud ends up escalating after Clyde wins the Charlie Kirk Award for Young Masterdebaters (Charlie Kirk being a real-life political commentator).
The episode ends with Clyde and Mackey visiting Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, only to be horrified at the debauchery on display. Realizing that they’ve compromised their values for the sake of an easy paycheck, the two escape from the place along with the imprisoned Dora, who they bust out.
