‘South Park’ Just Took a Shot at Trump, Apple, Google, and Paramount All at Once by Renaming Itself

South Park has never been the kind of show that waits for a political story to cool down before making fun of it. Trey Parker and Matt Stone have spent nearly three decades turning politicians, celebrities, companies, and just about every major news story into targets for their sharp brand of comedy. Now, as the animated series gets ready to return for another season, the creators have found a new way to make headlines by pretending to rename the entire show.

The joke arrived shortly after South Park picked up a major industry award. The series won the Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program, with the honor connected to its Season 27 premiere, “Sermon on the Mount.” That episode took aim at Donald Trump, continuing the show’s recent run of very direct political jokes. Instead of simply celebrating the Emmy, Parker and Stone used the moment to launch another attack, this time bringing Apple, Google, the Trump administration, and their own parent company Paramount into the joke.

The fake name change was announced with exactly the kind of straight-faced humor fans have come to expect from South Park. Parker and Stone wrote, “Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA.” They then turned their attention toward Paramount, adding, “We especially want to thank our parent company Paramount — a Skydance Capitulation.” Of course, South Park is not actually becoming South America. The announcement is simply another piece of satire designed to make fun of the real-world political and corporate stories surrounding the show.

The joke is mainly aimed at recent efforts to change the names of geographic locations and the way major technology companies have responded to those changes. The Trump administration has pushed several controversial renaming ideas, including changes involving the Gulf of Mexico and New Mexico. There has also been talk of changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America during tensions with Canada. Apple and Google have faced criticism after updating their map services to reflect some of the new names. Parker and Stone clearly saw an easy target and decided to take it one step further by pretending that even South Park needed an America-themed makeover.

Paramount also gets a pretty direct hit. The reference to a “Skydance Capitulation” points to Paramount’s merger with Skydance and the larger questions surrounding the company’s relationship with political pressure and the entertainment business. South Park has never been shy about making jokes at the expense of the company that owns it, which makes this part of the gag especially fitting. Parker and Stone have built their reputation on attacking powerful institutions, and that apparently includes the company signing their checks.

The latest stunt also fits with what South Park has been doing throughout its more recent seasons. Trump and his administration have become regular targets, with the show pushing its political jokes into increasingly ridiculous territory. One storyline even portrayed Trump in a bizarre relationship with Satan, while another turned Vice President JD Vance into a parody of Tattoo from Fantasy Island. The point is rarely subtle. South Park takes something happening in the real world and then pushes it into complete absurdity.

Season 29 will premiere on Comedy Central on September 16 at 10 p.m., with new episodes arriving on Paramount+ the following day. Six episodes have been confirmed so far, although Parker and Stone’s reported deal with Paramount calls for at least 10 new episodes each year. Their five-year agreement is reportedly worth $1.5 billion, so there is plenty more South Park expected beyond the initial batch of episodes.

For now, the fake “South America” name change is doing exactly what Parker and Stone likely wanted. It has people talking about the show before the new season even begins. After almost 30 years, South Park clearly has no interest in becoming less political or less ridiculous. If anything, its latest stunt suggests Parker and Stone are still happy to point their jokes at anyone they think deserves them, even when that target happens to be the company behind the show itself.

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