Is it just me, or does South Park’s outrageous humor align perfectly with today’s cosmic alignment – maybe Mercury’s in a mischievous retrograde, spurring viewers to double down on the chaos? After all, the show’s second episode of season 27 didn’t just trickle in—it surged like a comet through the Comedy Central ratings sky, nearly doubling the premiere’s audience. Targeting Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem (who, predictably, wasn’t exactly throwing a party), this episode pulled in a stellar 838,000 viewers — a cosmic leap compared to the premiere’s 430,000. Can satire be the zodiac sign Aries, boldly plowing through with fearless critique? Whatever it is, South Park’s staying power is as undeniable as a full moon’s glow. Oh, and the ripple effect? The Andy Samberg-led Digman! also caught a nice little orbit boost. Curious to see how far this celestial wave will carry the show? LEARN MORE
After the much-talked-about season 27 premiere of South Park, on-air viewers turned out in significantly larger numbers for the show’s second episode.
The Aug. 6 installment, which mocked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem (who was not pleased) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, drew 838,000 viewers for its initial airing on Comedy Central — almost double the 430,000 who tuned into the season premiere on July 23. That’s the third-highest initial tune-in for South Park in the past three seasons, behind a March 2023 episode about ChatGPT (in which the AI bot is credited as a co-writer with Trey Parker) that drew 1.04 million viewers and the season 25 premiere in February 2022, which logged 844,000 viewers.
The season premiere — which took aim at President Donald Trump, depicting him in bed with Satan (among other jabs) — grew to 5.9 million viewers with three days of streaming on Paramount+ and other delayed viewing, so the on-air growth for Wednesday’s episode likely bodes well its eventual total. Cross-platform numbers are likely to be available next week.
The Noem-baiting episode was also Wednesday’s No. 2 primetime show among adults 18-49 with about 455,000 viewers in the key ad demographic (more than the total audience for the season premiere). CBS’ Big Brother led the demo with a little over 800,000 viewers ages 18-49.
The surge for South Park also had a positive effect on its lead-out, Digman! The animated series starring Andy Samberg had 264,000 on-air viewers Wednesday after averaging 144,000 for its first two episodes this season.
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