After 29 years, the creators of South Park are changing the iconic comedy series’ name in an attempt to troll President Donald Trump.
“Following their Emmy win for Outstanding Animated Program, South Park is making a big change,” a Tuesday, September 8, press release read in part. “Creators Trey Parker & Matt Stone announce: ‘Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA. We especially want to thank our parent company Paramount — a Skydance Capitulation.’”
The Comedy Central series also announced that season 29 will premiere on Wednesday, September 16th. New episodes will air every two weeks. The show will be available to stream on Paramount+ the next day.
The name change from South Park to South America is a purposeful dig at Trump, 80, and his apparent obsession with changing the names of various bodies of water and even states.
In January 2025, Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. More recently, Trump issued an executive order changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America following stalled trade talks with Canada. He has also proposed changing the name of New Mexico to New America. (While the president has the authority to force U.S. agencies to use a new name for a body of water or state, he cannot require any other country — including Canada — to follow suit.)
South Park, or dare we say South America now, hasn’t shied away at poking fun at Trump and his administration. When the former reality TV star was elected president for the first time in 2016, the animated show parodied the newly-elected commander-in-chief with its character Mr. Garrison.
Parker and Stone made a different creative decision in season 27, opting to use actual images of Trump and Vice President JD Vance to poke fun at Trump’s second administration in both season 27 and 28.
While Trump hasn’t reacted to South Park’s name change yet, the White House previously released a statement slamming the animated series for its portrayal of the president.
“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,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told Entertainment Weekly in January 2025. “President Trump has delivered on more promises in just six months than any other president in our country’s history — and no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump’s hot streak.”
Over the weekend, the Comedy Central series won its fifth Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program at the 2026 Creative Arts Emmy Awards. The show celebrated the accomplishment on Monday, September 7, and included an image of Trump holding the award in celebration.
“Congratulations to Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and the entire South Park team on their Emmy win for Outstanding Animated Program!” read an Instagram post shared by the show.
