Comedy Central did not air South Park season 27 episode 3 on its expected release date (August 13), with the series now thought to continue next week instead. This also means it now won’t be available on Paramount+ either. However, unlike the season’s previous delay, the episode 3 delay was scheduled in advance. Instead, the network declared the day to be “South Park day,” running a marathon of fan-favorite episodes followed by the sitcom’s pilot episode ‘Cartman Gets an Anal Probe’ in the typical 10pm ET timeslot.
Episode 2 was delayed after the show’s controversial premiere, which featured the likes of a deepfaked Donald Trump with no clothes on and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents shooting puppies and driving around ominously in large groups. Screenshots from the show were quickly used on both the White House and US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s social accounts in order to try and recruit more people to join ICE.
The Department of Homeland Security (NHS) additionally told Newsweek: “We want to thank South Park for drawing attention to ICE law enforcement recruitment. We are calling on patriotic Americans to help us remove murderers, gang members, pedophiles, and other violent criminals from our country.”
It’s for this reason that I can’t help but think the delay of South Park season 27 episode 3 has something more attached to it. It’s certainly a conveniently timed break in the schedule, but given that season 27 has only been on for three episodes yet has suffered two delays already. Surely things aren’t operating smoothly behind the scenes? We always know what we get into with the hit TV show, but that might no longer be to everybody’s tastes.
Has South Park season 27 hit a political snag after its season 3 delay? I wouldn’t be surprised
I don’t need to spell out that the political and cultural landscape has remarkably changed in the last few years, and that’s possibly to South Park’s detriment. While real-world political and cultural affairs are offering a smorgasbord of inspiration, it also comes with a more critical lens. We’ve already had the comments from the NHS, above, with Kristi Noem also weighing in on her portrayal as well. Before her secret post-credits scene was revealed, she responded during an interview on the Glenn Beck Program podcast, slamming her character’s appearance: “It’s so lazy to just constantly make fun of women for how they look. If they wanted to criticize my job, go ahead and do that. But clearly they can’t – they just pick something petty like that.”
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers also told Variety about the events of episode 1: "Just like the creators of South Park, the Left has no authentic or original content, which is why their popularity continues to hit record lows. This show hasn't been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention."
This won’t be the last round of comments from political figures about what’s happening on the show, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see public conversations between the two sides on a weekly basis. I also wouldn’t be surprised if there’s resistance to what’s being shown behind the scenes, given nobody exactly comes across particularly well if they’re being featured on South Park. We’ve seen critics of the current US Government coming under fire or having their shows canceled (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s cancellation is a great example of this), so discussions about what should and shouldn’t be parodied could be holding up episode releases.
Of course, this is all speculation. We’ve got no idea what the rest of South Park season 27’s 10-episode run has in store for us, and I really hope Paramount and the show’s creators can hold firm to delivering the creative vision they want to. I can’t deny that I’m worried about episodes 4-10, but I’m also holding out hope. After all, South Park wouldn’t be South Park if it wasn’t near the knuckle and beyond, right?
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