"South Park" is giving President Donald Trump a break – for the most part.
The animated series returned to Comedy Central for its 29th season premiere on Wednesday, Sept. 16, after two back-to-back seasons that were heavily focused on skewering the president.
But in a significant shift, the new episode, titled "South American Biker Gangs," did not feature Trump, at least not within the main bulk of the show.
He did, however, show up in the intro: The series debuted a new title sequence that featured a cameo by a completely nude animated Trump, wiping himself with the American flag. The intro was also modified to reflect that the show's name has been changed to "South America," a dig at Trump's move to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America due
to a trade war with Canada. The lyrics in the theme song now say "South America" instead of "South Park," and the town sign was also updated.
It wasn't just for the intro: In the episode itself, the town's name is now South America. The new name is reflected on signage and buildings throughout the town, and all of the characters casually refer to it by that name. Most of the premiere has nothing to do with that tweak, and no one in town seems to have voiced any objections to it, which itself seems to be a satire of the way companies like Apple and Google went along with Trump's Lake America change by altering their maps.
The premiere is largely focused on South Park being overrun by kids dangerously riding e-bikes, but the South America name change is an underlying joke throughout. The only person who seems taken aback by the change is a news reporter, who remarks that the people of the town "rolled over" and accepted it without pushback.
There's also a running joke about the upcoming midterms elections, with characters remarking that the country has gone south and that "hopefully, things will be better in November" – because that's when "Grand Theft Auto VI" comes out.
As Season 29 of "South Park" approached, the major question was whether the show would still be as zeroed in on Trump as it has been since 2025. Starting with the Season 27 premiere last summer, the series made Trump a major character and effectively reoriented the entire show around him. Throughout that season and into Season 28, Trump was roped into a wild storyline involving him getting Satan pregnant, and mocking Trump and his administration became the driving force of every episode.
Earlier in September, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone signaled that they wouldn't abandon their satire of Trump. When "South Park" won the Emmy for outstanding animated series, the show's official social media accounts posted an image of the cartoon version of Trump with his pants down, holding an Emmy.
"You finally got your Emmy," the image said, a reference to Trump's years of complaints that he never won an Emmy for his TV show "The Apprentice."
On Sept. 8, Parker and Stone also announced they would change the name of "South Park" to "South America,"
"Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of 'South Park' to 'SOUTH AMERICA,'" Parker and Stone said in a joint statement, poking fun at Apple and Google for changing Lake Ontario to Lake America on their maps. "We especially want to thank our parent company Paramount – a Skydance Capitulation."
The season premiere appears to signal a shift back to storylines less focused on Trump, though the fact that he is in the intro suggests the show hasn't forgotten about him entirely.
When do new episodes of 'South Park' air?
New episodes of "South Park" will air at 10 p.m. ET on Comedy Central every two weeks through November. The show will be back Sept. 30, with additional episodes set for Oct. 14, Oct. 28, Nov. 11 and Nov. 25.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'South Park' returns with a new approach to parodying President Trump
