Viewership doubles as cartoon becomes 'surprising voice of resistance'

Ratings for Comedy Central’s “South Park” have surged, and its creators probably have political resentment to thank.

New York Times columnist John Koblin reports creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have a thing for taboos, and they “sensed a fear of speaking out against the administration” as one of the latest taboos to exploit.

“Trey and I are attracted to that like flies to honey,” said Stone. “Oh, that’s where the taboo is? Over there? OK, then we’re over there.”

The results speak for themselves as the latest season delivers “withering attacks against President Trump and his team of advisers,” which has made the show “a surprising voice of the resistance and catapulted the show back into relevance,” said Koblin.

“Viewership over the past four months is more than double [that of] 2023, the last year the show had a new season, according to Nielsen. ‘South Park’ has gotten so popular so quickly that entertainment websites have alerted even minor scheduling changes.

Koblin points out that the show focused its efforts on the White House at a time when creators’ own network has shown remarkable vulnerability and deference to Trump.

The tirade of cartoon attacks “has come immediately after Paramount, Comedy Central’s parent, changed owners in a series of events that appeared to cater to Mr. Trump,” said Koblin. “It has also aired during a few chaotic months in the comedy world. Paramount abruptly announced in July that it would cancel Stephen Colbert’s late-night show after this season, and Disney temporarily pulled Jimmy Kimmel’s competing show off the air in September after pressure from a top Trump administration official.”

At that time of production, Parker and Stone were in the middle of a high-profile contract negotiation with Paramount, and they felt that a new season deal was being delayed because of the looming merger of Paramount and Skydance, a production company run by Trump ally David Ellison. The merger deal required the blessing of the Trump’s administration.

“… We just had to show our independence somehow,” Creaters said.

The first episode debuted just hours after a five-year contract worth $1.25 billion was signed, launching broadsides against Trump and Paramount because of the cancellation of Colbert’s show. The creators initially thought Trump’s obnoxious character could be a one-off, but they felt they had found a “vein of comedy” in the first episode, according to Stone.

Returning to traditional “South Park” drama and abandoning MAGA was a possibility until creators decided “there’s no getting away from this,” according to Parker.

“It’s like the government is just in your face everywhere you look,” he said.