You may have noticed that South Park’s latest episode, “Twisted Christian,” is listed on cable and streaming as Season 28’s first episode. Naturally, fans are wondering if Trey Parker and Matt Stone renegotiated their contract. As of now, the show’s creators are still set to deliver 50 episodes under their Paramount deal, but that won’t stop them from tweaking how they’re listed on streaming or in syndication.
So why did South Park unceremoniously slide into Season 28 without so much as an announcement? The answer: 6-7. You know, the meme (thanks, Skrilla). Personally, I think it’s kind of clever, but I have kids and talk to their teachers. 6-7 is taking over classrooms and annoying parents everywhere. After the previous five episodes Season 27 had to offer, celebrating that kind of brain rot somehow feels appropriate.
Fans who haven’t been exposed to the meme were understandably confused. A quick scroll through Reddit shows plenty of posts asking what 6-7 even means, what happened to Season 27, and where exactly South Park is headed this year.
Season 28 Is Just Season 27 Part 2
Labeling the new batch as Season 28 is funny in the same way that Parker and Stone retconning Token’s name to Tolkien in Season 25 is funny. They changed the website, character lists, and subtitles throughout the entire series to sell the joke, and that kind of commitment deserves respect. Switching to Season 28 mid-run carries the same subversive energy since they didn’t want a two-episode arc (it’s another cliffhanger) about 6-7 to fall on Season 27’s sixth and seventh episodes. At least that’s the running fan theory I’m subscribing to.
As for the full storyline in “Twisted Christian,” it’s more of the same. Trump’s junk gets screen time by the 2:51 mark (and much more throughout the rest of the episode), Satan’s expecting his butt baby, who’s destined to become the Antichrist, and Peter Thiel comes to South Park to investigate the numerology behind the 6-7 meme.
Cartman, overtaken by the joke, starts violently laughing and vomiting in a third-act, Exorcist-style possession bit. Meanwhile, PC Principal and Jesus Christ argue over what makes a good Christian, JD Vance reveals his sinister plans to seize the White House, and the rest of the boys barely appear beyond the setup.
It’s Funny In The Moment, But Won’t Be Considered Classic
I’ve made this argument for years: South Park is funniest when the satire feels earned, not phoned in. The 6-7 meme storyline is a half-hearted callback to Season 16’s “Faith Hilling,” when the show mocked outdated trends that were so “2000 and late.”
The Peter Thiel jingle bears a striking resemblance to “The Ballad of James Cameron” in “Raising the Bar,” and the Trump-Satan subplot echoes the Saddam Hussein gags from the late 90s. What at first felt clever now feels like poor lip service. Been there, done that. It was a fun self-referential bit for a minute, but it’s run its course.
It’s not that the political humor in Season 28 is offensive to me by any stretch of the imagination. It’s just tiring. The Trump jokes work in small doses, but entire arcs built around him get old fast.
Mr. Garrison worked better as Trump’s stand-in from Season 19 to 25 because the humor came from his character’s ongoing identity crisis, not from chasing headlines. I’m glad he’s back in the classroom, but he’s barely on screen anymore, so it doesn’t really matter what he’s doing these days.
Ratings Do Not Equal Reception
My biggest gripe with Season 27 wasn’t that Trump became the target again; it’s that Parker and Stone have repeatedly said they wanted to move past this kind of low-effort satire because everybody else is already doing it. When I point that out, new viewers assume I “don’t get it” or that I’m politically triggered. I’m not. It’s just that the people tuning in for Trump bits are the same ones doom-scrolling before breakfast to see what ‘ole 47 is up to instead of spending time with their families. If that’s your thing, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and SNL, among countless other “roast the news” programs got that covered.
South Park used to balance small-town absurdity with global politics in ways that aged well. Now it feels like another late-night monologue with cartoon avatars. Sure, the ratings are high, but fan reception tells another story. “Twisted Christian” currently sits at 305th on IMDb out of all episodes ranked. Not exactly an instant classic. Viewership is at an all-time high, but does that mean anything if the core fanbase is over it?
South Park has been appointment viewing for me since I was the same age as the boys (don’t tell my parents). But as Season 27 bleeds into Season 28, I can’t help but wonder how much longer that’ll be true. I’m going to keep tuning in, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t bored to death.
South Park is streaming on Paramount+
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