Ahead of the release of Season 26, Max explores the potential storylines ready to be exploited in South Park
South Park returns for its 26th season on February 8th, and I (along with its large following) cannot wait to see what Trey Parker has in store for us. Since 1997, South Park has been drawing much raucous laughter and tackles some of the world’s biggest issues and fears. Whether it be philosophical or even political. They are also infamous for roasting celebrities and I think everyone can agree that their Kanye West is spot-on.
SATIRE
It’s very smart for a satirical humor show to mine the current zeitgeist as there is always something silly going on. And using comedy to knock it down a few pegs is always satisfying. Season 25 only had 6 episodes, and I am hoping that as we get further and further away from the pandemic, Parker will resume his 10-episode season run. What we got last year, however, was quite good. They tackled the problems with Russia, teenagers not being understood, and the double standard of systemic racism. What can 26 do to top that? Here are 5 things they could cover.
POTENTIAL STORYLINES
5.) The Ticketmaster Taylor Swift fiasco
In November of 2022, many Taylor Swift fans were unable to get tickets for Tay-Tay’s upcoming tour as the site crashed from too many people trying to order at once. Lawmakers were quick to chastise Ticketmaster and the disaster even got attention from Taylor herself and I can very much see South Park poking fun at that. Taylor has only made a cameo appearance in the series. And having an entire episode where she is parodied could be very enjoyable for fans. Family Guy did it first (believe it or not), but I want South Park’s iteration. Perhaps they will even deviate into Taylor’s personal life and poke fun at all her failed relationships. Taylor is NOT a fan of being made fun of though, and hope she doesn’t get too angry.
4.) Will Smith slap
Even though it has been a little over a year, the iconic slapping of Chris Rock at the Oscars is still ripe for parody. And since it was so bizarre and ridiculous, South Park has limitless opportunities to overdo it, perhaps with Will Smith slapping people all over the place like when they had Tiger Wood’s wife ambush Tiger every step of the way in one of their prior episodes.
3.) Kanye 3
As I said, Kanye West was completely DESTROYED in not one but TWO previous episodes and I feel it’s only fitting to follow up as the disgraced rapper and salesman has been up to a lot of wacky stuff since the last episode. Kanye has been vocal about his feelings towards people of the Jewish faith and even went so far as to have dinner with a white supremacist! Eric Cartman (arguably the most iconic character on the show) has been antisemitic for the last 25 years so perhaps he will agree with Kanye’s backward claims and become vocal with him. As a proud Jew myself, I seriously hope Parker does it!
4.) Secret documents at the President’s house
The world gasped in horror as confidential documents were found at former President Donald Trump’s Florida home. Then they gasped when they found some at Bidens. And Mike Pence’s! It seems every president likes to take classwork home and South Park will likely be able to turn this into something even more ridiculous. Parker got creative with Obama and McCain being international jewel thieves who worked together so perhaps they could link Biden and Trump. Though it won’t be exactly Trump. Trump is Mr. Garrison
5.) George Santos
George Santos was probably made for something like South Park. Colbert, Kimmel, and Fallon all have their own iteration of the controversial Senate-newly elect, and his antics border almost cartoonish anyway. Santos has stated ridiculously inaccurate lies and fabrications about his past. On his resume, he lied heavily about his job history and education. He lied about his heritage and he lied about his family. He even lied about his name!
This is just a powder keg waiting for the series to detonate and I feel that out of all five of these suggestions, it is perhaps evenly tied with Number two. Meaning I don’t think Trey Parker and Matt Stone will pass up this golden opportunity!
What do you think? Did I miss anything? Please leave a comment below
South Park is currently showing on Comedy Central.
Author
Max Nocerino is a regular Staff Writer for The Future of the Force. He is a passionate Star Wars fan and loves the literature of the galaxy far, far away. Follow him on Twitter where he shares his love of the Force frequently!
