South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have announced a satirical renaming of the animated series to ‘South America’. The statement from South Park Studios mocks Donald Trump, Apple and Google following the renaming of Lake Ontario to Lake America for US map users. The 29th series will premiere on 16 September at 10.00 pm US Eastern Time on Comedy Central.
Briefly about the main points
- South Park Studios has announced the satirical title *South America*.
- The joke was linked to Apple and Google’s actions regarding US maps.
- On 27 August, Trump signed an executive order naming Lake America.
- The authors singled out Paramount and Skydance for ridicule.
- The new series will be broadcast until 25 November.
Statement by South Park Studios and the creators’ response
Official website South Park Studios released a statement on the eve of the new season’s premiere. In it, Parker and Stone wrote: «Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA».
The Washington Post reported that, in response to a question about how long the name change would last, the authors stated that «SOUTH AMERICA is dedicated to 100%». The announcement is part of a satirical campaign surrounding the new season.
How the renaming of Lake Ontario became the basis for a joke
27 August Donald Trump signed a decree reserving the name for federal use Lake Ontario was changed to Lake America. The new name was subsequently added to the American system of geographical names.
Google was the first to update the labels in its mapping service, and was later followed by Apple. On Apple Maps, US users see ‘Lake America’, whilst in Canada it remains ‘Lake Ontario’, and in other regions both names may appear.
A similar situation had previously arisen with the Gulf of Mexico: the Trump administration introduced the official American name ‘Gulf of America’, and Google and Apple updated their maps accordingly.
New America’s proposal for the State of New Mexico
The series of geographical name changes continued with Trump’s posts on Truth Social. The President published an image in which the state of New Mexico is labelled ‘New America’, and also shared a video showing the word ‘Mexico’ replaced with ‘America’ on a road sign.
Unlike renaming a lake for federal purposes, the President does not have the sole authority to rename a US state. The proposal has drawn criticism from politicians and residents of New Mexico.
The case against Paramount and Skydance
In the same statement Parker і Stone They added: «We’d particularly like to thank our parent company, Paramount — for Skydance’s capitulation.» The wording is a play on words and a dig at the parent company following the corporate changes involving Paramount and Skydance.
The writers have previously criticised the situation surrounding Paramount and its relationship with the Trump administration. In recent seasons, the US President has been one of the main targets of the series’ political satire. South Park recently won an Emmy for Best Animated Programme, after which the creators once again poked fun at Trump.
Broadcast schedule for Season 29
The day after the TV premiere, new episodes will be available on Paramount+ in the US, Canada and Australia. The series will also be available via this streaming service in other countries.
Following the launch, releases are scheduled for 30 September, 14 and 28 October, and 11 and 25 November.
