South Park has been one of the most widely influential television shows of the last two decades, and has surprisingly been able to maintain a consistent level of quality as it delves into new material. South Park may have initially made a lot of noise because of its controversial content, but it eventually developed into a surprisingly thoughtful analysis of politics, world events, the entertainment industry, and small-town values.
While even some of the greatest comedy shows of all time have a few missed opportunities, the best episodes of South Park are as good as television can get. While most fans would argue that the show’s best episodes are in its earlier days, several new installments from the show’s more recent seasons have also managed to win over new fans. Here are some of the best South Park episodes that are pretty much perfect.
20
“Sermon on the Mount”
Season 27, Episode 1 (2025)
South Park has proven once again to be the most relevant show on television, as “Sermon on the Mount” proved that Parker and Stone could still get their audience fired up decades after the show’s conception. Although South Park has often gotten political in the way that it attacks public figures, “Sermon on the Mount” offered a scathing interpretation of President Donald Trump, and even tied back into jokes that had been set up way back in South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut.
“Sermon on the Mount” proved that there was still a future for South Park, as the merger between Skydance and Paramount Pictures had briefly threatened to break up the development deal that Parker and Stone had made. However, the success of “Sermon on the Mount” indicated that new South Park episodes are still “must-see event television.”
Season 19, Episode 8 (2015)
“Sponsored Content” was proof that the serialized approach to South Park could work, as it was another chapter in the broader story about the rise of PC Principal that took up a majority of the nineteenth season. Serialized stories can grow stale when the narratives feel stretched out too far, but “Sponsored Content” added an interesting new wrinkle to the story by showing how Jimmy became a rival of his new Principal.
“Sponsored Content” also offered a hilarious satire on native advertising and corporate cross-promotions, which have made it increasingly more difficult to determine what actual news is. Although South Park’s quick production turnaround time has allowed it to stay ahead of the conversation when it comes to discussing topical issues, “Sponsored Content” introduced criticism of capitalistic entities that still remain relevant, given the continued pressure put upon journalistic outlets by their owners.
18
“The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers”
Season 6, Episode 13 (2002)
Any of the episodes in which the boys play pretend are a treat, as they allow South Park to be flexible with its own worldbuilding and embrace more genre elements. Given that the show was airing right before The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was about to hit theaters, it was the perfect time for South Park to create a vast J.R.R. Tolkien parody in which Cartman, Kenny, Kyle, Stan, and Butters are about to go on their own fantasy adventure.
Parker and Stone are clearly fans of The Lord of the Rings, as “The Return of the Fellowship of the Two Towers” contains niche references to both the original source material and the films by Peter Jackson that indicate that they know what they are talking about. The episode’s success paved the way for the show to parody Game of Thrones in the future.
17
“Good Times with Weapons”
Season 8, Episode 1 (2004)
Given how successful the show’s parody of World of Warcraft was, it made sense for South Park to satirize the pop culture sensation of anime and Dragon Ball Z in a unique episode that changed the stylization. Although it was interesting to see the South Park creators embrace a different art style, “Good Time With Weapons” is a hilarious satire of the way that Japanese culture has been depicted in the media, and why that might be problematic when someone as bigoted as Cartman is involved.
“Good Times with Weapons” also ties back into themes of censorship, which had been a major part of the show since the release of South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut. Although the game that the boys are participating in contains a ton of graphic violence, the parents in South Park are only offended by the suggestion of sexual content.
16
“All About Mormons”
Season 7, Episode 12 (2003)
“All About Mormons” became one of the most controversial episodes that South Park ever aired, as it prompted legitimate backlash from the Mormon church. After a new family of Mormons move to the town, Kyle is initially curious about their seemingly perfect family life, but later grows horrified when he learns about the true, disturbing history of Joseph Smith and the religion’s foundation.
“All About Mormons” allowed Parker and Stone to do a deep dive into the origin of Mormonism and the unusual practices conducted by members of the church, which they had been analyzing since their underrated film “Orgazmo.” This would eventually inspire them to write, produce, and create the Broadway musical The Book of Mormon, which became one of the biggest smash hits in recent memory and won multiple Tony Awards, including the top prize for Best Musical.
15
“The Death of Eric Cartman”
Season 9, Episode 6 (2005)
“The Death of Eric Cartman” is one of the most complex episodes about Cartman, as it explores how genuinely challenging it is to punish someone who shows no signs of wanting to redeem himself. After the other boys stage a dark version of It’s A Wonderful Life in which they pretend that their most obnoxious friend does not exist, Cartman decides to enlist Butters in a mission to discover the truth.
“The Death of Eric Cartman” shows the extremes that Cartman is willing to go to in order to get attention, even though genuinely being a better person would have solved these issues; he even goes so far as to manipulate Butters. Arguably, the team-up between Cartman and Butters is one of the episode’s best elements, as it feels like a throwback to classic action movies like Lethal Weapon and 48 Hrs.
14
“The Losing Edge”
Season 9, Episode 5 (2005)
“The Losing Edge” is a hilarious satire of inspirational sports movies like The Sandlot and The Bad News Bears, as it shows how challenging it is for the kids of South Park who hate nothing more than playing baseball. Stan, Kyle, Kenny, Cartman, and Butters all play baseball because they feel obligated to by their parents; as the season proceeds, they decide to sabotage their own success in an attempt to end the season early.
“The Losing Edge” is a great way of showing the generational divide within South Park, as it is evident that the value that the parents placed upon baseball and athletics is not shared by their children. South Park is always great when it gets to make fun of cliches that were popular in other genres, and the show’s anarchic lampooning of family-friendly baseball stories produces some truly shocking moments of humor.
13
“The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs”
Season 14, Episode 2 (2010)
South Park is packed with relatively interesting notions of social satire, which are often made more compelling thanks to the use of gross-out humor. “The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs” is a surprisingly scathing takedown of literary criticism; after the boys grow frustrated with having to read The Catcher in the Rye at school, they decide to write a vulgar book of their own to prove that there isn’t really anything worth praising in J.D. Salinger’s work. However, the plan backfires when their book receives immense praise, and Butters is subsequently hailed as a literary genius.
“The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs” underlies a problematic aspect of all forms of criticism, in which value is ascribed to something that wasn’t intended to be a standout. Although it’s a surprisingly salient point that has grown even more relevant in recent years, the episode includes enough vomit-related jokes to keep regular South Park viewers entertained.
12
“Simpsons Already Did It”
Season 6, Episode 7 (2006)
Although the series has shown disdain towards many of their rival adult animated shows (particularly Family Guy), South Park does seem to have a lot of respect for The Simpsons, as it was such a groundbreaking series that clearly ranks among the best ever made. The issue is that since The Simpsons has been so consistently great for several decades, it can be hard for shows like South Park to do something significantly different that does not feel like a complete retread.
“Simpsons Already Did It” examines the pressures put on South Park writers, and explores what it is like to be innovative within the realm of animated comedy in the post-Simpsons world. While South Park is usually quite scathing when it makes references to other programs, it does appear that Parker and Stone seem to have some genuine respect for The Simpsons.
11
“Dead Kids”
Season 22, Episode 1 (2018)
“Dead Kids” is easily one of the darkest and most controversial South Park episodes, as it deals directly with the crisis of school shootings that have become even more common in the United States. The bleak portrayal of the future that South Park imagines is one where having to dodge gun violence is just a reality that Cartman, Kenny, Kyle, and Stan have to deal with; the issue becomes so extreme that Randy has to calm down his wife and ensure her that nothing that is happening is a big deal.
“Dead Kids” calls attention to the overabundance of violence on television, and how it has desensitized viewers to actually caring about the safety of children. While many fans would agree that South Park has not been as strong in its recent few seasons, “Dead Kids” proved that the series still had the ability to shock.