Oh, hamburgers! ‘South Park’ ratings soar after creators trash Trump

Ratings for Comedy Central’s “South Park” are up more than 100% since the show’s last full season. The ratings surge has occurred as the animated comedy has focused on mocking Donald Trump and his administration.

The New York Times reported on Monday that viewership for “South Park” has more than doubled compared to 2023, the last time the show had a full season of programming.

Co-creator Trey Parker told the Times that he believes the show hasn’t become more political, but that “politics became pop culture” with Trump’s reelection. Parker and collaborator Matt Stone believe that “new taboos” around speaking out against Trump have emerged since January, and “Trey and I are attracted to that like flies to honey,” Stone said.

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The new season’s launch aimed directly at Trump, with an episode depicting him having a sexual affair with Satan, who previously in the show’s lore had a relationship with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in the show.

Another “South Park” episode depicted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem shooting puppies, an allusion to her confession in her book that she killed a pet dog. Noem lashed out at the episode, falsely arguing that the episode had mocked her looks and not her position and heinous policies.

The program has also taken Trump to task for his heavy-handed armed invasion of Washington, D.C., along with his racist immigration policies.

Ironically, “South Park” has taken on the administration at the same time that Paramount, the media giant that owns the franchise, has come under fire for its relationship with Trump. It was Paramount that paid off a massive bribe to Trump while seeking approval of its merger with Skydance. Paramount has also chosen to cancel Trump critic Stephen Colbert’s “Late Night” on CBS while installing conservative columnist Bari Weiss to oversee CBS News.

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“South Park’s” recent boom mirrors that of other media personalities and ventures that are expressing opposition to conservatism.

Taylor Swift’s album “The Life of a Showgirl” broke sales records just a few months after Trump declared that the artist, who has endorsed Democrats for the presidency on multiple occasions, was “no longer hot.” Similarly, conservatives insisted that director James Gunn’s “Superman” would be a box office flop after he called the iconic hero an immigrant. The film has earned over $350 million and is the No. 3 movie for the year.

On the other hand, MAGA-friendly businesses have not done as well. After the company distanced itself from diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives following Trump’s win, Target stores have lost sales and been forced to trigger a serious management shakeup.

Tesla, the electric car company run by top Trump financier and former DOGE frontman Elon Musk, has also lost sales thanks to its association with Trump and racism.

“South Park” has been airing for 28 years and its creators have discovered a new gold mine in taking on Trump—and giving some much-needed laughs to the millions of Americans who cannot stand this administration.

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