SOUTH PARK (Seasons 27 & 28): A Topical As Ever

SOUTH PARK - THE COMPLETE 27TH AND 28TH SEASONS

2025 / 227 min

Paramount

Review by Nick Lyons, from DVDCorner.net😺

The long-running adult animated comedy series proves to be as topical as ever in seasons 27 and 28. In these 10 episodes (5 per season), stories cover a wide range of topics such as religion, Mr. Mackey becoming an ICE agent, President Trump and other Government officials, Randy using ChatGPT to the extreme, Tegridy Farms falling on hard times, Labubu toys, Jesus, Satan, tariffs, prediction market gambling, Israel, the 6-7 meme, cryptocurrency, Stan having to live with his grandpa at a retirement home, AI, a turkey trot, and Saudi Arabia financing. While there are episodic stories, these two seasons have ongoing story arcs including the main one of Trump impregnating Satan. Along the way, a few familiar faces pop up, including Towelie and even the Woodland Critters.

Part of me misses the early seasons of “South Park,” which focused more on the characters, the community, and a whole lot of oddball humor like alien probes and MechaStreisand. Over time, the show has evolved and has turned into arguably the best satire on TV. Sure, there’s been ups and downs and it can be said that the content might not age. At the same time, however, the series has chronicled pop culture and yearly events. You can look back on the show and see how the world has changed for better or for worse.

"No, Donald, you don't get a prize for this."

Speaking to that, you have to admire how writer/director Trey Parker is unafraid to delve into issues of the time. He has the guts to speak to the bizarre, frustrating, and downright insane subjects in the world. For instance, in these two seasons, two episodes really stood out to me. “Sermon On The Mount” deals with Jesus literally being in school and Woke being dead (much to the sadness of Cartman). The episode also goes off in an entirely radical direction and explores Trump and Satan’s relationship, which is the funniest arc of these two seasons to be sure. The season 28 episode, “Sora Not Sorry,” tackles AI revenge porn and shows how the lines between reality and fiction are being blurred to an alarming degree. The Trump arc continues on in this one with him developing an intimate relationship with JD Vance on the side. Yes, you read that right. Both of these episodes really demonstrate Trey Parker’s ability to satirize real people and current affairs while never forgetting to make it funny.

Does every episode work here? No. Season 28 in particular goes a bit off the rails as it crams too many subplots in and focuses more on Trump and the cabinet members instead of the core characters. Still, there’s no doubt that since the Paramount deal, Trey Parker has found his groove again and that “South Park” is as relevant and funny as ever.