Season 28 of “South Park” featured a Thanksgiving special on Wednesday, during which the citizens of the Colorado mountain town participated in the annual Turkey Trot while U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth attempted to bail Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel out of prison.
The episode opens with the South Park city council debating who should sponsor the Thanksgiving 5K. Many of the city’s citizens have fallen on hard times in recent months, meaning local businesses and former sponsors are unable to come up with the necessary funds. However, there is a foreign entity flush with cash and eager to spend.
The show then cuts to a live commercial for the annual South Park Turkey Trot featuring the sponsor for 2025: Saudi Arabia. The ad sets this year’s top prize at $5,000, but it also makes sure to mention that “disparaging remarks about the Saudi royal family are strictly prohibited.”
Meanwhile, at the Park County police station, Sergeant Yates receives an unexpected visit from Hegseth, who demands that they release Thiel.
In grand fashion, Hegeth rappels down from the roof to the station. Flanked by two National Guard soldiers broadcasting live on their phones, he tells his viewers, “Hey, what’s up, guys? This is Pete Hegseth from the War Department! We’re here to infiltrate this police station and extract a POI because that’s what we do!”
Despite his efforts to intimidate Sergeant Yates, he easily expels Hegseth, refusing his request to release Thiel.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone returned the series to more typical “South Park” antics this week after primarily focusing on Donald Trump-centric storylines in previous episodes. Parker and Stone placed the President in seriously compromising positions throughout Seasons 27 and 28, including in bed with Satan and Vice President JD Vance. In the season 27 premiere, they turned Trump into a political PSA that boasted about his “tiny” manhood.
While shows like “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” ” and “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” caught Trump’s attention for much less, “South Park” has largely avoided the president’s crosshairs. During a recent appearance on the Daily Beast’s “Last Laugh” podcast, comedian Patton Oswald said Trump respected the success of “South Park” and that’s why he hasn’t put the hammer down.
“’South Park,’ not only makes crazy money, but it gets crazy ratings,” Oswald said. “And Trump can only be very angry about that, because what he will ultimately respect, even if he doesn’t respect it, is something where the numbers are skyrocketing and the money is skyrocketing. He can’t look at ‘South Park’ and see how brilliant he is, and he can’t look at something like John Oliver and see how he’s just as brilliant. All he can think about in terms of numbers, looking at his numbers, and that’s the only way he sees the world.
