6 Most Iconic ‘South Park’ Episodes To Watch After The Season 27 Premiere
South Park is back and making bigger waves than ever following their massive $1.5 billion streaming rights deal with Paramount. But that’s not stopping co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone from critiquing everyone from their patron to the president.
If you loved the season premiere “Sermon on the Mount” and want to relive the most sensational and polemic episodes from the series, I’m sharing my personal favorites, from least to most controversial, below.
6. 2024 Special “The End Of Obesity”
Since the COVID-19 pandemic and lock-down, South Park has shifted its output schedule, alternating between a series of episodes for Comedy Central and longer “TV Specials” for Paramount+. The latest of these, and the only content released for the entirety of 2024, was “The End Of Obesity” which tackled the rise of injectable weight-loss drugs, American “Big Sugar” corporations, and the American health care system, all within the span of 50 minutes.
Notable highlights include Randy in a crop-top, a “trim” Cartman, and prescriptions for “Lizzo” as the alternative for those who can’t afford semaglutides. The most sensational inclusion is a mafia-style table full of cartoon cereal and packaged food mascots, all threatened by what wide-scale weight loss could mean for their margins. It’s a must watch for anyone who loves to watch Parker and Stone “connect the dots”.
5. S18E3 “The Cissy”
It’s no surprise that Parker and Stone tackled the public debate around transgender rights and public restrooms, but it is pretty crazy to realize this episode is already almost eleven years old, and the topic is still a hot-button issue. Of course, Cartman was going to represent the most unrealistic aspects of the debate, putting a bow on his hat and insincerely claiming a “transginger” identity in order to use the women’s restroom.
But what really stands out about this episode, and makes it a long lasting personal favorite, is the big reveal of Randy’s hidden identity as Lorde. You can’t help but sing along to his catchy riffs, “Ya ya ya ya ya I’m Lorde! Ya ya ya!”, but when you add the “auto-tuned” vocals, supplied by none other than Sia herself, the absurdity reaches new heights.
4. S7E5 “Fat Butt and Pancake Head”
Who would have known, back in 2003, just how much was yet in store for J. Lo and Ben Affleck when this episode spoofing their “Bennifer” love affair originally came out? Cartman’s ventriloquist act, creating a hand puppet version of Jennifer Lopez to beat out Kyle’s in a cultural diversity event, takes on a life of it’s own, stealing the real Jennifer Lopez’ record deal and relationship with Ben Affleck.
The highlight of the episode is the music video Cartman records at the local mall, for a song titled “Taco Flavored Kisses”. It’s so far removed from anything to do with the actual Jennifer Lopez, who is Puerto Rican, and not Mexican, like the song’s slew of taco and burrito references imply, but if anything, the music mogul’s willingness to jump on the opportunity speaks to the tokenizing of “exoticism” in mass media.
3. S8E6 “The Jeffersons”
It’s been over 20 years since this episode and the scandals it addressed captured the attention of the world. Premiering just a week before Jackson’s 2004 arraignment, the episode takes on the accusations of child molestation Jackson was later acquitted of a year later, the media’s portrayal of Neverland Ranch, critiques of Jackson’s parenting following the infamous balcony episode, as well as heavier topics of race and racial profiling by police.
This is definitely one of the more controversial episodes because of its publicly lampooning Jackson, but in many ways, South Park merely summarized the frenzy taking place within the tabloids in its incredibly direct and bluntly branded style. While there is much to be critiqued about the content in retrospect, the episode serves as a relevant snapshot of pop culture at the time.
2. S7E12 “All About Mormons”
While South Park is known for mocking almost every major world religion, this episode stands out for being a musical/satirical history lesson about the foundation of Mormonism. Based on Parker and Stone’s personal experiences in Colorado and visiting Utah, this episode laid the foundation for their extremely popular Broadway musical, The Book of Mormon, which opened in 2011.
For viewers like myself, who may have known next to nothing about Mormonism (outside of seeing copies of The Book of Mormon in hotel rooms), this episode and the musical definitely catapulted awareness of the religion into the mainstream media, and perhaps is in part to thank for the popularity of shows like The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives that are captivating viewers today.
1. S9E12 “Trapped In The Closet”
Only South Park would combine R. Kelly’s 33 chapter musical “soap opera” with an episode dedicated to Tom Cruise and Scientology. Where earlier religious mockery ran the risk of being disrespectful or distasteful, The Church of Scientology has a track record for being extremely litigious, and fallout from the episode included a blocked re-run, as well as the departure of Isaac Hayes, a Scientologist and the voice actor for Chef.
While secret church documents regarding the story of intergalactic lord Xenu had leaked back in the 80s, South Park‘s abridged animated summary brought the mythology to mainstream media, years before Paul Haggis’ New Yorker profile, HBO’s Going Clear documentary, or Leah Remini’s A&E series tackled the topic from a more serious angle. It’s a perfect example of the series’ penchant for pairing substance and satire with extremely crass humor.
