South Park Sucks Now, And It’s On Purpose

South Park has always been a counterculture show, and one of the reasons I’ve been critical of the current run of episodes in Seasons 27 and 28 is that the series has become a hotbed for political commentary just like every other late-night program. It’s no longer unique; it’s preaching to the choir, which is just so, so boring. Trey Parker and Matt Stone are well aware of this, and for the first time they pull the curtain back in their latest episode, “The Woman in the Hat,” which isn’t just critical of the Trump administration but their own creation as well.

Stan Marsh, who has always served as Parker’s avatar, sums it up succinctly when he says, “South Park sucks now. And it’s because it’s all of this political s***. We’re just getting totally bogged down in it. Remember when we used to do stuff? Just us guys? Ever since all this political crap took over, it’s like-what? Like-like what happened to us?”

People Like Me Are Now The Subject Of South Park’s Satire

I’ve been saying for months that I miss the old South Park because the episodes involving the boys and their misadventures have always been the best part of the show. I’ve been called a fascist for being critical of a show that’s critical of our current president, as if you can’t be critical of both things for different reasons.

Let me be very clear here: being critical of a TV series that’s critical of Donald Trump doesn’t mean you can’t also be critical of Donald Trump. Those are two different things. The fact that needs to be spelled out is beyond sad because it demonstrates how bad we are at critical thinking.

Recent seasons have revolved around long political arcs featuring Trump, Satan, and serialized storylines instead of the one-off chaos that made the early years iconic. That shift has divided fans in a big way.

It’s worth noting, however, that I’m not alone in having these thoughts about South Park. “The Woman in the Hat” is currently ranked 286th on IMDb according to fan ratings, with a 7.3-star rating as of this writing. Parker and Stone, who seemingly now realize that they wrote themselves into a corner much like they did with Season 20 (when they banked on Hillary Clinton winning in 2016 only to rewrite entire arcs on the fly when she lost), are facing a similar predicament.

South Park commentators on YouTube have echoed the same sentiment that the series has gotten too political, with creators like Blooms and Truff’s Stuff expertly breaking down exactly what’s wrong with the show these days. While I can’t say for certain if Parker and Stone have actually watched these breakdowns, I know with confidence they’re aware of this perceived decline in their creation’s quality.

Having spent considerable time turning the mirror toward their critics (and themselves) in “The Woman in the Hat,” I’m actually starting to think that Seasons 27 and 28 are part of a long con to have their cake and eat it too. They’re still going after the Trump administration, and hard, but also intentionally tanking their own show in the process to prove a point.

The Paramount Parallels

Without getting into the political satire angle that South Park continues to spit out in “The Woman in the Hat” because anybody can look that up on Wikipedia, I instead want to focus on the boys and their crusade to save their town from being overrun with politics. Stan, who wants to save South Park, takes a page from the “Butterballs” playbook seen in the Season 16 episode and decides the best way to prove his point is by screwing people out of money through an elaborate cryptocurrency scheme. Hopefully, he doesn’t end up on another San Diego street corner with his pants down when he bites off more than he can chew.

This is exactly what Parker and Stone have done with their $1.5 billion deal with Paramount+. They delayed Season 27’s production to avoid politics and focus on the boys, then felt compelled to go full-tilt into politics after lengthy negotiations and legal wrangling.

During this time, other politically charged shows like The Late Show with Stephen Colbert were being pulled or altered by Paramount Global, which only reinforced the idea that Parker and Stone needed to say something in the name of free speech. Deciding to double down and go hard on current events before the ink even dried on their new contract, the South Park creators became more relevant than ever with “Sermon on the ‘Mount.”

South Park is more popular than ever, and it was fun for a minute. But then it became one-note, and got boring fast. Since the can of worms was already opened in the form of a season-long arc involving Trump and his “butt baby” with Satan, Season 27 concluded after just five episodes, and Season 28 marked a stylistic shift in the series. Stan’s lamentation over South Park sucking now, in my mind, mirrors how Trey Parker currently feels about the show. But when Stan says, “What’s wrong with trying to make a little money while also pointing out the things wrong with our town?” it’s telling.

With South Park being the countercultural institution that it is, I can see why Parker and Stone feel a responsibility to use their platform to lampoon the system they feel is responsible for America’s media-friendly turn for the worse. Feeling powerless to break away from politics, they’ve decided to do what they do best, which is satirizing themselves and their fans who no longer enjoy the series like they used to.

A Giant Middle Finger I’ll Stick Around For

I’m starting to see the pieces fall into place. South Park, which recently locked in one of the most lucrative deals in TV history, might be sabotaging itself to prove a point while also raking in a boatload of cash.

If this decline is intentional, it reframes the backlash from failure to performance art. As soon as South Park sees its eventual dip in viewership from its new politically charged audience who are only sticking around for the Trump stuff, longtime fans like myself are also getting tired of the show thanks to the new direction it has taken, and slowly walking away from the series, potentially causing irreparable damage to Paramount’s bottom line.

I could be way off base here, but it certainly seems like this is by design. Parker and Stone taking their $1.5 billion and alienating their core audience in the process is probably the most counterculture thing anybody could do, and they’re laughing all the way to the bank.

As for the rest of Season 28, I think I’ll stick around. It was great seeing the boys sitting at the same table, figuring out how to save South Park, while also hearing Trey Parker use Stan to vent his frustrations over the creative direction the show has taken.

I hope I’m right, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

South Park is streaming on Paramount+.