‘South Park’ is having its best ratings in years. Thank Trump and Kristi Noem spoofs
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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 July 23. The second episode had 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.
After closing the $8 billion merger, mogul David Ellison holds court with the press — and the first question is about President Trump.
“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 JD 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 episode.
“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.
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