The creators of South Park have broken their silence on the show’s recent focus on mocking Donald Trump, revealing they were attracted to “new taboos” and a fear of speaking out against the administration.
South Park has enjoyed big ratings and sparked much debate ever since the Donald Trump-skewering Season 27 opener in July. While the Comedy Central show has featured a number of subplots in recent months, the overarching Season 27 and now Season 28 storyline revolves around Trump and Satan having a baby together. The Season 27 opener, which you can read the details of here, roasted Trump to such an extent that it sparked a rebuttal from the White House.
Now, in an interview with The New York Times, creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker revealed they only decided to create the Trump plotline a few weeks before the season began, and that they thought the Trump character would be a one-off.
Those plans changed though when, according to Stone, the creators found a “vein of comedy” in the first episode. They said they sensed a fear of speaking out against the Trump administration and “new taboos,” and wanted to take it all head-on.
Stone said: “Trey and I are attracted to that like flies to honey. Oh, that’s where the taboo is? Over there? OK, then we’re over there.”
So, when will the Trump mocking end? Parker admitted the pair will eventually get “sick of” the Washington storyline, but for now it remains.
“You know, next year will be different,” he said. “If there’s one thing we know, it is that our show will be a lot longer than theirs. So, we just got to do this for now.”
Comedy Central had delayed the Season 27 ender just hours before it was due to air, with Parker and Stone insisting the blame lay at their door. “Apparently when you do everything at the last minute sometimes you don’t get it done,” the pair told Variety. “This one’s on us. We didn’t get it done in time. Thanks to Comedy Central and South Park fans for being so understanding. Tune in next week!”
Parker and Stone create each episode week-by-week, which makes for a chaotic production but topical shows. But they had switched to a biweekly schedule for Season 27, with the elongated production time allowing the pair more room to work on each episode, something Paramount was reportedly happy with.
It’s worth noting that during their San Diego Comic-Con 2025 panel, which took place the day after the Season 27 opener aired, Parker said the pair were unsure what the next episode would be, revealing the decision was “super stressful.”
We're now into Season 28 after the surprise decision to bring South Park Season 27 to an end after just five episodes. The final three episodes of Season 28 air every two weeks through December 10 (November 12, November 26, and December 10).
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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