Comedy Central’s animated series South Park has officially rebranded itself as South America for its upcoming season, launching a sharp satirical campaign against recent White House renaming initiatives, according to reports from outlets including CNN, The Guardian, the BBC, the Los Angeles Times, and The Hill.
Co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone announced the change on Tuesday, stating they were inspired by tech companies adopting federal geographic alterations. “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 statement reported by CNN. They added a direct nod to their corporate ownership, stating, “We especially want to thank our parent company Paramount – a Skydance Capitulation.”
The Satirical Target Behind the Rebrand
The satirical move arrives just a day after President Donald Trump posted a series of images suggesting New Mexico be renamed “New America,” according to reporting by the Associated Press and CNN. While the executive branch holds authority to rename federal geographic landmarks like bodies of water, presidents lack the legal power to alter state names. New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham swiftly criticized the social media posts as an attempt to deflect public attention from rising consumer prices and ongoing conflicts.
https://x.com/GovMLG/status/2096721538326356476
The rename also builds on a series of federal designation changes enacted since Trump took office for his second term. In January 2025, an executive order officially renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” a modification logged in the Geographic Names Information System. Shortly thereafter, digital mapping services operated by Google and Apple adopted the new moniker for United States-based users. Google stated at the time that its platform reflects official government designations, meaning Canadian users still see traditional titles like Lake Ontario while domestic users see “Lake America,”
Emmy Win Precedes Season Premiere
The official South Park X account posted an image of a Trump caricature with his pants around his ankles holding an Emmy Award, celebrating the show’s recent victory for Outstanding Animated Program, according to CNN and The Hill. The series, which debuted on Comedy Central on August 13, 1997, has earned 21 Primetime Emmy nominations and won the category five times, as documented by the Television Academy.
The satirical rollout comes as Paramount pursues ongoing corporate consolidation efforts to merge its film studio and television operations with Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN, HBO, and the Warner Bros. studio. The new season of the newly minted South America is scheduled to premiere on September 16, broadcasting on Comedy Central with next-day streaming available on Paramount+ in the United States, Canada, and Australia.