SOUTH PARK is Now SOUTH AMERICA as Trey Parker and Matt Stone Changes The Show's Name
After 29 years, 28 seasons, and 338 episodes, South Park has apparently decided that “South Park” just isn’t American enough anymore.
Ahead of Season 29, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have officially announced a new name for their long-running animated comedy: South America. Yes, really. Well, “really” in the very specific way that anything involving Parker and Stone can be considered real.
The pair revealed the change with a new title treatment and a statement that makes it perfectly clear what they’re making fun of:
“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 announcement is a satirical response to President Donald Trump’s August 27 executive order directing the U.S. federal government to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America.”
It follows his earlier order establishing “Gulf of America” as the U.S. federal name for the Gulf of Mexico. Apple and Google subsequently reflected the Lake America name for U.S. users of their mapping services. The White House
Naturally, Parker and Stone saw the whole situation and decided their fictional Colorado town deserved an upgrade of its own. South Park becomes South America. Geography problem solved.
The joke also gives the creators another opportunity to take a shot at Paramount Skydance. Their “Skydance Capitulation” jab continues a very public and increasingly funny feud with the company that owns Comedy Central.
Parker and Stone previously blamed the Paramount-Skydance merger for interfering with the series, releasing a considerably less playful statement during the chaos surrounding Season 27: “This merger is a shitshow, and it's f***ing up South Park"
Despite that corporate friction, South Park found a permanent streaming home on Paramount+ in 2025 through a reported $1.5 billion, five-year exclusive deal after previously streaming on HBO Max.
The past couple of seasons have also been unusually short. Seasons 27 and 28 consisted of only five episodes each and arrived with an irregular release schedule that included multiple delays.
Season 29 already looks a little more organized. The official schedule currently has six episodes planned, beginning September 16, followed by new installments on September 30, October 14, October 28, November 11, and November 25.
As for whether the South America name is sticking around, Parker and Stone aren't treating it like a temporary gag publicly. When asked how long the change would last, they responded, “We are 100% committed to SOUTH AMERICA.”
Either way, it’s an appropriately ridiculous way to kick off another season. After nearly three decades of Cartman, Stan, Kyle, Kenny, celebrity takedowns, political satire, corporate fights, and enough controversy to bury most television shows several times over, South Park has somehow reached the point where even its own title has become part of the joke.
Or should we be calling this South America Season 1?
South America Season 29, formerly known as South Park, premieres September 16 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central.