Brian Graden says South Park's 2025 season surprised him

Polygon interviewed producer Brian Graden, who said he was surprised by South Park's 2025 season, which began with a direct attack on Donald Trump presented in the series as "literally fucking Satan" and concluded nine episodes later with a Jeffrey Epstein joke about Trump’s baby hanging itself in Satan’s womb.

The run earned the show its highest ratings in years and wide news attention, but it split the fandom: right-wing fans viewed it as a betrayal of South Park's usual middle-ground approach to satirising extremism, while many other viewers felt the show needed to take a stand in an era the article described as one where the White House is pressuring media voices to "tow the line or pay the price with fines and/or cancellation." Graden, who discovered Trey Parker and Matt Stone in the mid-1990s, recalled distributing their short "The Spirit of Christmas" on VHS, bringing the series to Comedy Central after Fox passed, and shepherding the pilot and first season.

Graden said he was surprised the creators so fully embraced one side after years of avoiding clear left-or-right positions. He added he did not think they’d had a political conversion — his "gut" is that they saw a moment that demanded an unapologetic response and that they may pivot again once that moment has passed — and he noted he still talks to Parker and Stone today.

Key Topics

Culture, Brian Graden, South Park, Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Donald Trump