South Park Proves It’s Too Big To Fail In Its Mission To Mock Trump

Now that this season’s second episode has aired, we’re sure to hear more of the same. Treading lightly to limit spoilers, but the episode primarily focused on ICE raids and the griftersphere, where no one believes in anything but the sound of applause and the power of ragebait to inspire tribalism and make bank. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was more in the spotlight than Trump this time. Still, we did get the chance to witness the show’s Trump character with another little prick (JD Vance) near the episode’s (and Satan’s) end. 

While nothing from the episode stands out quite as much as the nude deep fake, it shows a commitment to the bit and a willingness to be Trump’s most punishing comedic critics. Which wasn’t a given.

The timeline is a key detail here. The show that is “hanging on by a thread” just reached a $1.5 billion deal with Paramount in the shadow of a looming merger, locking in a commitment of 50 new episodes over the next 5 years, with the lucrative South Park back catalogue moving from HBO Max to Paramount+. 

The premiere episode also aired in the immediate aftermath of Paramount’s decision to sack Stephen Colbert and retire the Late Show franchise. Financial reasons were cited, but people have their doubts due to the CBS News’ $16 million settlement with Trump, and the proximity of the decision to the aforementioned $8 billion Paramount/Skydance merger that was in front of Trump’s FCC before gaining approval. 

Though it might seem as though a version of Paramount headed by more Trump-friendly leadership with rumored designs on future mergers might toss South Park from its platform or try to pressure its creators to bend the knee, that seems unlikely now. 

Colbert has mocked the whispered about figures connected to his show’s supposed deficits, but objectively, The Late Show wasn’t anywhere near as valuable to Paramount as South Park’s sweet, sweet IP with its video games, action figures, specials, and streaming library. The HeTrumpedUs.com bit from the season premiere is both a trigger for the Trump administration and proof of South Park’s continued ability to get noisy in a loud marketplace. That’s something Colbert couldn’t legitimately claim, despite his skill and wit.

In the midst of his forehead vein throbbing response to the Colbert firing, The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart acknowledged as much, saying that producing late-night shows in 2025 is akin to running “a Blockbuster kiosk in a Tower Records.” He also said the shows that Paramount seeks to “cancel, censor, and control” have provided “a not insignificant portion” of Paramount’s $8 billion value, referring to The Late Show and 60 Minutes. And he’s right. Sorta. The Late Show and 60 Minutes helped drive CBS’s entertainment and news brands over the last 30-50 years, but their value to the new Paramount is less concrete. South Park’s value, on the other hand, is well established: $1.5 billion. 

I don’t want to paint South Park as this pirate entity operating outside of corporate claws. The show has more than two decades of big swing satire that has pissed off… everyone? There have, for sure, been fights with management over the years (as well as episodes censored or held back from re-air/streaming). They reportedly disagreed over the season 27 premiere as to whether they had to blur the synth Trump dick, resulting in the decision to add eyes (and personality) to the member. 

In this new version of Paramount, in deference to their enormous​​ commitment and despite these unprecedented times™, it’s easy to assume the status quo will remain and South Park will retain a vast (but not limitless) amount of creative freedom to antagonize who they want, no matter the blowback. Again, last night’s episode kind of proves that theory, especially following the show’s response on Twitter (presently X, for some reason) to the official Homeland Security handle using a grab from the episode pre-air to recruit ICE agents…which is what the show ceaselessly mocked last night.

I still can’t believe Trump didn’t fire off a social tirade about South Park being crap and how yuge his hog is after the season premiere. How long will he ignore a show having a moment in the culture while embarrassing him? A show confident in its security because no company is going to fuck with a massive content deal that’s a huge part of their business? A show that keeps aiming at the much-coveted young male demo while questioning the presidential penis and calling out his bullshit. This isn’t a turn the other cheek president. Expect a tussle and, most likely, the adaptation of any Trump criticism into South Park’s storylines. 

After the premiere but before the latest episode, I wondered if Parker and Stone wanted to keep fighting this fight and making their show all Trump, all the time. 

Back in September of last year, the South Park creators indicated a desire to be less tied to Trump, with Stone telling Vanity Fair, “Obviously, it’s fucking important, but it kind of takes over everything and we just have less fun.” Parker then added to that, saying, “I don’t know what more we could possibly say about Trump.” Clearly, they found their muse and a change of heart, perhaps accepting that none of us is having much fun as we reckon with the difference between the idea of a possible second Donald Trump term in September and the reality of it nearly a year later, which is jarringly different. 

With the daring creativity they’re showing in dedication to the art of political comedy while providing perhaps the only bulletproof vendor of that art, here’s hoping Parker and Stone keep going. And not just because they’re in opposition to Trump. That laughing and pointing thing is more than a bedrock principle for this country; it’s a vital release valve that helps carry people through when out of power.