Following a relatively uneven pair of seasons that saw the creators double down on their streaming platform’s serialized format, Season 27 sees South Park return to its episodic roots, with the show’s creators toning down the scale while focusing on the familiar antics of the four children as they try to understand the increasingly ridiculous world around them. And what better way to kick off the season than with a Biblical tale of Christ returning to the town to bring his sermon to the confused residents of South Park? In “Sermon on the ‘Mount’,” Jesus attempts to teach the Gospel to the locals in the midst of the end of the world, but it quickly becomes clear that the only spiritual guidance these people truly want comes from the verified Church account on social media. “Sermon…” sets the tone for the rest of the season, which sees the show’s sharp satirical edge turned towards the ever-growing content creator complex and the way people use the Church to justify their actions.
It is in “Got A Nut” that South Park’s signature brand of lunacy fully returns, as Kyle and Wendy try to uncover the identity of a particularly vile online troll who seems determined to ruin everything for South Park Elementary. While it is unsurprising to see Cartman being the troll’s true identity, it is somewhat refreshing to see him not be the villain for once, as the real one pulls the strings from the shadows using the internet’s anonymity to his advantage. Meanwhile, Mr. Mackey gets laid off from his job, which leads to some particularly cringeworthy scenes as he tries to find new work by any means necessary.
And then there is “Sickofancy”, which has to be one of the best episodes involving Randy Marsh in recent memory. In this installment, Randy gets his hopes dashed when ICE starts cracking down on Tegridy Farms, but he manages to turn it around by hiring ChatGPT to write romantic texts to his wife to soothe his broken heart. This episode’s brilliance comes from its ability to depict Randy’s cringeworthy but understandable behavior while showcasing how sick of his antics Sharon truly is. But the episode is by no means a romance – it is a farcical look at technology’s role in modern relationships and the ways in which it can help or hinder them. Towelie’s antics in Washington take the episode to its hilarious conclusion when he tries to legalize marijuana.
“Wok is Dead” sees the series take on globalization and the absurdity of supply chains with the help of Butters, who tries to buy a rare designer toy for his girlfriend’s birthday only to get entangled in a web of tariffs and markups that leave Butters both bewildered and in debt. At the same time, the Fox News studios erupt in joy at the prospect of their far-right politicians finally getting elected, making this episode a hilarious look at how people tend to consume politics. As expected, Butters’ naiveté is the source of much of the episode’s humor, which is then twisted into farce as he gets deeper into debt while trying to get the doll for his girlfriend.
The season finale, “Conflict of Interest”, sees the gang learning of a new prediction markets gambling app that has taken South Park Elementary by storm. In this episode, Kyle and Cartman are at odds with each other once again, but instead of fighting, they begin to bet on everything from student drama to cafeteria fights and test scores, which provides the series with an interesting look at the way such markets can turn every aspect of daily life into a gamble. In a hilarious continuation of the theme, the news outlets that provide commentary on the markets change their narratives several times to drive up ratings.
While Season 27 finds South Park finding its old groove, Season 28 then proceeds to burn it down to the ground. With the combined runtime of Season 28 easily eclipsing that of its predecessor, South Park delivers one of its most consistent seasons to date, made up of some of the show’s most unhinged episodes in recent memory. It is difficult to say when this shift happened, but it seems as if, in 2025, South Park began to realize that it no longer had the time or energy to keep up with the rapid changes in the world, so it stopped trying to comment on everything at once and instead focused on taking shots at whatever was happening at that specific moment.
In the season opener, “Twisted Christian”, Cartman is possessed by a demon, which causes all the local clergy to believe that he is the chosen one who can stop the upcoming arrival of the Antichrist. While this premise seems right out of a children’s movie, it is the juxtaposition of this premise with Cartman’s underlying greed that gives this episode its strength. This is a series that has always had a complicated relationship with religion, and seeing Cartman portrayed as a greedy but ultimately sincere believer who thinks that he truly has been chosen by god to do his part is a fascinating look at the real-life hypocrisy of the clergy.
Another highlight of the season is “The Woman In The Hat”, which sees the White House haunted by a ghost only visible to the President. Meanwhile, back in South Park, Stan expresses his exhaustion at the way that everything in his life is dictated by politics, which is a draining perspective coming from a child who essentially has no say in the matter. This episode is, in many ways, the most South Park episode of the season, as the children are once again caught up in events that are far too big for them while also expressing their frustration and helplessness in the face of it all. In this particular installment, it is Stan who wears the straight man facial expressions the longest as he listens to his parents try to rationalize the situation, and there is something deeply satisfying about seeing his frustration boil over.
“Sora Not Sorry”, on the other hand, is the season’s most technically impressive episode, as it uses the threat of AI-generated video to create a story that has resonance in the here and now. After being further humiliated at school, Butters tries to make it up to his peers by doing something nice, but it backfires spectacularly when people begin believing fake videos made with AI. Officer Barbrady and Detective Harris are then tasked with investigating a string of robberies, which becomes a challenge due to the difficulty of determining whether a video is real or not. This issue is portrayed in a humorous but realistic manner, with the episode avoiding getting too bogged down in technical details and instead depicting the way that parents, kids, and the police are all affected by the situation.
Finally, the season is concluded with “The Crap Out”, which continues the plot from the previous episode while also introducing a new one involving Satan’s impending arrival on Christmas Day. In this installment, Stan and the boys are forced to pray for a miracle to happen when they realize that, without one, the world will be taken over by the antichrist. Once again, the episode blends farce with a genuine look at the pressures kids face, as Stan is shown to be genuinely exhausted by the entire ordeal while also being terrified of what will happen if nothing changes. This episode is a fitting end to the season, as it manages to balance the show’s typical absurdist tone with some of the most emotionally resonant material that South Park has to offer in years.
But what ties all of this together is a return to the show’s roots – the focus on the four boys and their adventures. Whenever South Park tries to do a multi-season serialized story, it tends to lose some of its edge, as the adults often become the focus, while the kids are relegated to second fiddle. However, Season 27 does the opposite – it puts the adults in the background while focusing on the kids, who are all dealing with their own issues.
While Kyle is once again the most mature and level-headed of the group, his cynicism seems misplaced, as does his belief that South Park’s problems can only be solved through his activism. Stan, for his part, continues to be the straight man, attempting to make sense of the absurdity that is his life but being unable to do so due to his parents’ behavior. Meanwhile, Cartman is portrayed in a more nuanced light than usual, as he is shown to be manipulative and greedy but also somewhat sincere in his belief that he can fix things. And then there is Kenny, who is perhaps the most interesting of the four, as his antics continue to provide the group with much-needed levity while also serving as a reminder of their childhood friendship.
The image quality is slightly worse than what one would see on a streaming service, but it is still perfectly watchable and does not suffer from any major compression artifacts. This is especially true for an animated show, where the simplicity of the art style allows for easy viewing on a wide variety of displays.
The audio quality is similarly good, as the dialogue is clear and easy to understand, and the music and sound effects are all well-mixed. More importantly, owning this physical media is the best way to ensure that one can enjoy this content for years to come, as there is no doubt that Paramount will eventually remove it from their streaming catalog due to rights issues or changes in their business model.
When it comes to the bonus features, this release is fairly bare-bones, as has become standard for most physical media releases in recent years.
Overall, this combined DVD set of Seasons 27 and 28 is a must-own for any fan of South Park , as it showcases the show’s ability to deliver on its promise to provide cutting-edge satire while also providing some of the most hilarious episodes to date. The South Park Seasons 27 and 28 DVD set is available for purchase now at your local retailers’ shelves and on the web.
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