South Park will be renamed ‘South America’ for its 29th season, its creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have said, in a direct satire of Donald Trump’s campaign to attach “America” to geographical names.
The announcement followed the show’s Emmy win for Outstanding Animated Program on Sunday. The creators have not said whether the title change will last beyond that season.
In a statement, Stone and Parker said: “Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA”. The announcement included an image of the familiar South Park sign with “Park” replaced by “America”.
The joke draws on recent moves by the Trump administration and the response from major technology companies. Trump signed an executive order in August changing Lake Ontario to Lake America. Apple and Google then altered the name in their Maps apps for US-based users.
Trump had declared last year that the Gulf of Mexico should be called the Gulf of America. Mexico has rejected that change, arguing that one country cannot rename a shared body of international water.
A day before the South Park announcement, Trump shared an AI-generated video showing him placing the word “America” over “Mexico” on a “Welcome to New Mexico” sign. Stone and Parker’s retitling extends that pattern of renaming from maps and public signs to a long-running television programme.
The creators also aimed their satire at their corporate owner. “We especially want to thank our parent company Paramount - a Skydance Capitulation”, they said.
The reference comes after the Trump administration this year approved a $111bn (£82.8bn) merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery. The merger has been paused until June 2027 after 12 US states filed lawsuits against the deal.
South Park has been on air since 1997 and has already had a public clash with the White House during its 27th season. The White House called it a “fourth-rate” show that was “hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention”.
After receiving the Emmy on Sunday, the programme shared an image of a fictionalised Donald Trump alongside the words: “You finally got your Emmy”. The subsequent title announcement places the show’s latest season within a wider dispute over the administration’s naming agenda and the willingness of large companies to adopt its changes.
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