SAN DIEGO—Tens of thousands of fans from around the world have gathered here for Comic-Con International. This four-day pop culture convention celebrates entertainment and storytelling across various genres. Discussion panels, meet-ups, exhibitions, and activations are scheduled to take place, with an estimated 135,000 people expected to attend this year.
Creatives often use entertainment as a platform to offer commentary on the state of our world, and as these tumultuous political times continue to unfold, a variety of panels at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) are grappling with topics that affect everyone. And while the usual superheroes from Marvel were notably absent from the famed Hall H on opening night, thankfully, the heroes of Comedy Central’s animation block swooped in to provide a panel discussion on adult animation, storytelling, and the current political terrain.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone of South Park joined Mike Judge (Beavis and Butt-Head) and Andy Samberg (Digman!) on the main stage Thursday night, sharing stories of their creative process and sneak peaks of upcoming episodes of their series. The panel comes a day after the Season 27 premiere of South Park, which immediately made headlines as Parker and Stone dedicated an entire episode to giving a scathing criticism of President Donald Trump, complete with their signature biting comedy.
Despite (or perhaps because of) the South Park creators recently concluding a lucrative streaming deal with Paramount (the parent company of CBS) for 50 new episodes on Paramount+, the duo did not hold back in criticizing their bosses.
Earlier this month, Paramount settled a lawsuit filed by Trump over an interview broadcast by 60 Minutes last October. The president had sued CBS for $10 billion, alleging that the network deceptively edited an interview that aired on its news program with then-Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris to “tip the scales in favor of the Democratic Party” in the election. Trump’s lawsuit was denounced by many as an obvious attack on the freedom of the press, but Paramount forked over $16 million to settle the suit, with the money set to be allocated to Trump’s future presidential library.
Coming on the heels of this settlement was the cancellation of CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which many see as another concession to the Trump administration, as host Colbert has been a consistent critic of the president.
The already-infamous South Park episode had a running gag regarding Trump’s “teeny tiny” manhood. It depicted the MAGA leader getting into bed with the literal devil (a spot the creators have often given to the late dictator Saddam Hussein), while making references to the Paramount settlement, 60 Minutes, and Colbert’s cancelled show.
White House Assistant Press Secretary Taylor Rogers reacted to the episode on Thursday in a statement to the press, claiming:
“Just like the creators of South Park, the Left has no authentic or original content, which is why their popularity continues to hit record lows. This show hasn’t been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention. President Trump has delivered on more promises in just six months than any other president in our country’s history—and no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump’s hot streak.”
This assertion, of course, flies in the face of South Park still being considered one of the highest-rated and watched adult animated programs to date.
The Trump episode also touched on other topics, such as Christianity in public schools, regretful MAGA supporters, the administration’s attempt to silence critics, and damaged U.S. relations with Canada.
During the panel, Parker and Stone were unfazed by the White House backlash. Parker said, “We’re terribly sorry,” followed by a long, deadpan-comedic stare conveying that they were anything but. The moderator of the panel quipped that he had a subpoena hidden in his stack of question cards, likely referencing the Trump administration’s frequent use of lawsuits against anyone who criticizes the president.
When commenting on the current state of society, Stone praised Mike Judge of Beavis and Butthead, noting how his 2006 film Idiocracy was prophetic in detailing America’s future tilt toward anti-education and anti-critical thought politics, thus previewing a descent into “stupidity” and chaos.
Judge is no stranger to using his storytelling to touch on real-world topics. In the movie Beavis and Butthead Do the Universe (2022), the title characters discover they have white privilege and go around happily destroying stuff without understanding why—or what the term means—a fitting analogy of the damage that ignorance can inflict. Andy Samberg also shared the stage, celebrating the second season of his show, Digman.
Bravery in the face of abusive power was the throughline of the day at Hall H (the largest room used for the convention, where over 6,000 attendees can sit) as the previous panel on the upcoming film The Toxic Avenger discussed the importance of doing what is right in the face of wrongdoing. The updated reimagining of the 1984 original is written and directed by Macon Blair, starring Peter Dinklage, Elijah Wood, Taylour Paige, and Jacob Tremblay. The film tackles corrupt businessmen and political extremist groups with a Punk-rock edge. The remake has a stamp of approval by original creator Lloyd Kaufman, who made a surprise appearance at the panel.
All the panelists agreed that the one thing about comedy when it comes to tackling issues is to create your own work and have fun while doing so. The Comedy Central panel ended with Parker and Stone being surprised with the Comic-Con Inkpot Award for Best Animation.
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