The Season 27 kickoff of “South Park” not only ignited controversy but also garnered impressive viewership for Comedy Central and Paramount+. As reported by Paramount, the episode, featuring a scene with President Donald Trump in bed alongside Satan and an incredibly realistic deepfake of a nude Trump, drew in 5.9 million cross-platform viewers across both Comedy Central and Paramount+. These statistics, supplied by Nielsen, account for the total number of viewers based on global watch time divided by run time during the initial three days following the release of the episode, from July 24 to July 26.

The episode signified “South Park’s” largest linear season premiere share since 1999 and experienced a 68 percent rise compared to its Season 26 premiere. Furthermore, it achieved the highest season premiere rating for the show since 2022.

The premiere also became a sensation on social media, with Paramount declaring it the “#1 most social episode ever for ‘South Park’.” The hashtag #SouthPark trended on X for more than 12 hours, holding the top position for five hours. As of this writing, the Trump deepfake PSA has accumulated 4.4 million views on YouTube.

In the aftermath of the premiere, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers slammed “South Park” in a statement distributed to Variety, Rolling Stone, and The Hollywood Reporter, among other media.

“This show hasn’t had relevance for over 20 years and clings to life with unoriginal concepts in a desperate bid for attention,” Rogers remarked. “President Trump has fulfilled more promises in just six months than any other president in our nation’s history – and no mediocre show can derail President Trump’s remarkable progress.”

Despite the label of a “mediocre show,” it’s clear that audiences are tuning in.