For the past 26 seasons, South Park hasn't shied away from satirizing politics on both sides of the aisle, particularly during presidential election cycles. But it looks like the upcoming 2024 election won't be getting the same treatment.
South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone revealed in a recent interview with Vanity Fair that the series won't be returning until 2025. Part of the reason, they say, is because they're “waiting for Paramount to figure all their sh*t out." They also admit, however, that it's no accident that that also means they'll just so happen to skip the 2024 election cycle — and, particularly, yet another cycle revolving around former President Donald Trump. "Honestly, it's on purpose," Stone said.
“I don’t know what more we could possibly say about Trump," Parker said.
“We’ve tried to do South Park through four or five presidential elections, and it is such a hard thing to — it’s such a mind scramble, and it seems like it takes outsized importance,” Stone explained. “Obviously, it’s f*cking important, but it kind of takes over everything and we just have less fun.”
South Park has long satirized Trump since his 2016 campaign for president, using series mainstay Mr. Garrison has a stand-in for him. But this isn't the first time Parker and Stone have hinted that they're tired of addressing the former president; all the way back in 2017, Parker admitted to The Los Angeles Times that the show had fallen into the "trap" of mocking Trump every week.
"We're becoming: 'Tune in to see what we're going to say about Trump.' Matt and I hated it but we got stuck in it somehow," he said at the time.
As for the Paramount of it all, it's likely that Parker and Stone are referring to the sale talks that have been going on for months now. Paramount recently reached a sale agreement with Skydance worth a reported $8 billion.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
