Latest news with #CartmanGetsanAnalProbe
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
How ‘South Park' became the buzziest thing on TV — in its 27th season
Would the famously confrontational, proudly juvenile 'South Park' creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone take the money and run to safer ground? The answer came swiftly with the series' A brief summary: Trump is having a sexual relationship with Satan, a privilege once reserved for Saddam Hussein (see: the 1999 movie 'South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut'). Satan is a little disappointed in the size of the president's penis. Advertisement In a private room at Mar-a-Lago, Dora the Explorer, who has been kidnapped by ICE agents, is found giving a man an intimate massage. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem goes on a rampage gunning down puppies — a reference to Noem's Vice President JD Vance is depicted as Tattoo, the little person portrayed by Hervé Villechaize in the original 'Fantasy Island,' welcoming guests to Mar-a-Lago. At one point, Trump, wearing a white suit worthy of Ricardo Montalban's Mr. Roarke, literally boots him offscreen. And so on. The White House responded to all of this by declaring that the series 'hasn't been relevant for over 20 years,' reaffirming that 'South Park' is actually more relevant than ever. Comedy Central announced this week that episode 2 of the new season had more than 6 million multi-platform viewers and the biggest audience share (the percentage of the television audience watching a particular program at one time) in the history of the series, which premiered in 1997. (In lieu of a new episode on Aug. 13, Comedy Central also proclaimed this Wednesday 'South Park Day,' which kind of sounds like something 'South Park' would take pleasure in mocking. Episode 3 of the new season is scheduled to drop on Aug. 20). 'South Park' is, by definition, ridiculous, and I mean that in the best possible way. The very first episode, which ran Wednesday instead of a new installment, was called 'Cartman Gets an Anal Probe' (I still remember it fondly). The show works in broad strokes; Noem wasn't entirely wrong when she took 'South Park' to task for hitting the easiest possible elements of her persona (shooting dogs, trying to look glamorous as she does inhumane things). But that's how satire often works. It pinpoints dominant traits and hammers away at them. And when Parker and Stone ridicule something, or someone, it means they deem those targets ridiculous. Not scary. Not corrupt. Ridiculous. Advertisement In the past, Parker and Stone have shown an eagerness to take on both liberal pieties and conservative sacred cows; they drew the ire of Sean Penn after depicting him and other famous Hollywood denizens as deluded, self-righteous crusaders in the 2004 film 'Team America: World Police.' Parker and Stone lean libertarian, which gives them more people to insult and enrage. But there's something perfect about the current 'South Park' moment. A series that detractors dismiss as crude and over-the-top has gotten under the skin of a president whose rhetoric has more in common with professional wrestling and internet trolling than diplomacy. The show is addressing him with blunt force mockery, a tone that he understands. And people are watching — not just NPR listeners, but also 'South Park' bros, many of whom presumably voted for Trump. Equal-opportunity offenders pull in an eclectic crowd. In summary: Parker and Stone got paid. Paramount got its merger. 'South Park' ratings are through the roof. And political satire and democracy live another day. Chris Vognar can be reached at
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘South Park' is having its best ratings in years. Thank Trump and Kristi Noem spoofs
Comedy Central's 'South Park' continues to target President Trump, and viewers appear to be loving it. Ratings for the 27th season of the irreverent and often ribald animated series have surged, according to data from Nielsen and Comedy Central. The second episode, which premiered Aug. 6, scored 6.2 million viewers across the cable network and Paramount+, now the exclusive streaming home for the series, over the first three days. The figure is 49% higher than the first three days for the season premiere, which debuted on July 23. The second episode scored 1.56 million viewers on Comedy Central, making it the highest rated episode since 2018, with nearly all of them in the 18 to 49 age group coveted by advertisers. The new season of 'South Park' launched amid the tensions between Comedy Central's parent Paramount and the Trump White House. It also arrived after the show's co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone scored a massive $1.5-billion five-year deal with Paramount for the streaming rights, which previously belonged to HBO Max. Paramount paid $16 million to settle a lawsuit over Trump's claim that '60 Minutes' deceptively edited an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris to aid her in the 2024 Election. First Amendment experts said the suit had no merit. But the settlement was seen as necessary for Skydance Media to get federal regulatory approval of its $8-billion acquisition of Paramount, which closed on Aug. 7. 'Late Show' host Stephen Colbert joked that the settlement was a bribe. Days later he was told by CBS that his program was being canceled at the end of the 2025-26 season due to financial losses. But 'South Park' has not held anything back in its comedic takes on Trump, presenting him naked and in bed with the devil. Trump's boast that Paramount is giving him $20 million in public service announcements as part of the '60 Minutes' settlement was also lampooned. (The company has not confirmed that such a deal was made for free ad time). The second episode showed the president dressed in a white 'Fantasy Island'-style suit with Vice President J.D. Vance as his diminutive sidekick. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was portrayed with a melting face and a trigger-happy response to puppy dogs. Both were were running gags throughout the espisode. 'South Park' regular Cartman became a conservative podcaster in the second episode and was seen sporting a hairstyle similar to that of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. Parker and Stone will take a break this week as Comedy Central will air the very first 'South Park' episode — 1997's 'Cartman Gets an Anal Probe' — on Wednesday as part of a marathon for the series.
