South Park’s upcoming special, titledJoining the Panderverse, is set to premiere exclusively on Paramount+. Kyle, Stan, Kenny, and Cartman will return once more with this new special format which has proven to be a successful variation of the balanced episodic formula, which is still ongoing. After a deal with the streaming service, Matt Stone and Trey Parker signed up for more seasons until 2027 and 14 television specials, aninteresting variant for theSouth Parknarrative. The creators of the long-running show have already shown that lengthier storylines help them convey their satirical views on current culture, andJoining the Panderverselooks promising in terms of what it covers.
Multiverse, AI, and PC culture have already been satirized by Stone and Parker in previous episodes. However,South Park: Joining the Panderverseseems to have found the common denominator between these elements for this new special. It’s well-known that the crew behind the series can develop anew episode/special in short periods, something that keeps the social commentary current and related to what’s happening in the public sphere. In a very particular year for the industry with the SAG-AFTRA strike and the advance of AI,South Park: Joining the Panderverseclearly has something to say about this phenomenon.
How South Park: Joining the Panderverse Can Address the Industry’s Current Issues
The new teaser finds fourSouth Parkboys transformed into diverse women (breaking a 26-year tradition for the show). Kenny, Stan, Cartman, and Butters are replaced, with Kyle being the sole character that remains the same. The last scene of this short preview finds him sitting down in PC Principal’s office next to the alternate female version of Cartman, trying to make sense of what’s going on. Leading the voice of reason for this special, Kyle’s doubts are discharged by the principal, who tells him that he’s the problem in this situation.
The official synopsis provided by Paramount+ reads:
Cartman’s deeply disturbing dreams portend the end of the life he knows and loves. The adults in South Park are also wrestling with their own life decisions as the advent of AI is turning their world upside down.
This short text provides continuity withSouth Park’s thoughts on AI in last season’s episode,Deep Learning. In it, both the kids in the Colorado town and the adults start takingadvantage of ChatGPTfor their homework and even their love lives. The chapter evolves into a delusional situation, wittingly ending in the episode crediting ChatGPT as a co-writer of the episode. The multiverses, while not being satirized directly, have been partially acknowledged with multiple episodes revolving around the boys disguising as superheroes, trying to create their own MCU-like franchise.
Related:Why Is South Park’s Release Schedule So Sporadic?
Multiverses, though an enticing topic for modern media, are being used perhaps too often. This isn’t a bad thing per se, but withSouth Parktying PC culture with multiverses and AI, the blow is surely directed at how standardization affects the industry. With the SAG-AFTRA strikes pointing fingers at studios using AI to write scripts in lieu of employing more writers, this dart hits the core of this issue of how culture might tend to homogenize with machine-learning tools, repeating elements that trend during a certain period. This is not a criticism against inclusion but of pinkwashing, hence the return of the PC principal as a central character for this episode.
South Park’s Relationship With Political Correctness
South Parkhas a track record of being provocative. Stone and Parker havepicked rows with basically everyone, spoofing them in more than 300 episodes, a movie, and five TV specials (and counting) throughout almost three decades.
Even with moments where the series aimed for sheer provocation, scatology, or whatever the crew thought to be disturbingly funny to portray with their particular animation style, the show still proved to be a sharp provider of social commentary on certain topics. Notable examples includeSouth Park’s early seasons' clear advocacy for LGBT rights or more recent punches to Trump’s presidency and COVID-19 anti-vaccine reactions, to mention just a few.
Related:Funniest and Best South Park Episodes
The truth is that the series has seen the evolution of the idea of political correctness. Back when it started, with a more conservative culture,South Parkwas perceived as disruptive, simplified to a crude show with coarse humor. As culture shifted towards a different lens for certain social rights,South Parkremained clear in its postures while still allowing itself to utilize thecontroversial style that made it popularin the first place.
In that line,South Park: Joining the Panderversedoesn’t fall far from the fowl-mouthed (yet ironic) tree. Stone and Parker obviously have something to say about the current state of media production, and the latest special is the perfect excuse to share it. Hopefully, the feature’s writing will make the creators' opinions shine, but the topic choice is as relevant as ever, proving thatSouth Parkstill has a lot to say about the world’s current issues, andits multi-part episodes and specialsare a great way to continue to do so.
