Ahead of Season 29’s premiere on September 16, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are calling out corporate spin, tech giants, and political absurdities in a way only they can.
Fresh off an Emmy win for Outstanding Animated Program, South Park is kicking off its 29th season on September 16 with a brand-new title: South America.
The sudden rebrand came straight from creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who announced the news with a healthy dose of sarcasm. The move lands as a direct jab at the current White House administration’s ongoing push to rename geographic features—like changing Lake Ontario to “Lake America” and floating “New America” for New Mexico—along with the corporate domino effect that followed.
“Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA,” the creators said in a statement. They then turned the heat on their own studio bosses: “We especially want to thank our parent company Paramount—a Skydance Capitulation.”
The joke behind the rebrand
The stunt takes aim at two targets at once. First, it mocks tech giants like Apple and Google, who immediately fell in line by updating their digital mapping software for U.S. users following the executive directives. Second, it calls out Paramount Skydance—whose $111 billion mega-merger with Warner Bros. Discovery relied on federal approval—highlighting how quickly corporate Hollywood folds to stay on Washington’s good side.
While studio executives play nice to protect massive business deals, Parker and Stone are using their flagship show to publicly call out their own corporate owners.
More from LifestyleA history of pissing off Washington
This isn’t the first time the show has gotten under the White House’s skin. Since launching in 1997, the series has been a non-stop pain in the neck for the Trump administration, standing out as one of the few shows brave enough to mock a political movement that usually hates being laughed at.
Parker and Stone have repeatedly outraged Trump and MAGA loyalists with completely wild bits—like showing a cartoon Trump naked in bed with Satan, giving him absurdly tiny genitalia, or depicting former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as a puppy killer whose face melts off from too much Botox.
Why the cheekiness matters
At its core, South Park has spent nearly 30 years questioning anyone who claims moral authority, whether they sit in Washington, Hollywood, or Silicon Valley. By viewing the world through four foul-mouthed kids in a small Colorado town, the show takes ridiculous real-world culture wars and stretches them to their absolute breaking point.
In a comedy landscape where most shows tread lightly around corporate interests or preach to safe audiences, South Park stands virtually alone in its willingness to bite the hand that feeds it. Dropping Season 29 as South America on September 16 proves that almost three decades later, Parker and Stone still know how to hit political and corporate power where it hurts.
