South Park just looked straight into the camera and said the quiet part out loud. The Halloween special, The Woman in the Hat, doesn’t just wink at the show’s critics — it nods, sighs, and then says the thing fans have screamed on forums for years.
The meta confession
The episode opens with Stan Marsh getting shipped off to his grandfather’s retirement home after Randy loses his job at the USGS during a government shutdown. Stan is miserable, he’s over it, and then he drops the line that doubles as a thesis for the episode — and maybe the season.
"South Park sucks now."
He blames it on the show drowning in politics. From there, the kids try to fix it the most 2025 way possible: they spin up a crypto meme called "South Park Sucks Now" as part of an escape plan from the retirement home. It’s the show roasting internet culture while roasting itself, and yes, it’s very on-the-nose — intentionally.
Meanwhile, at the White House
That self-own runs alongside the latest entry in the show’s ongoing political fantasy arc: the Satan and Donald Trump storyline that’s been running across multiple episodes. In The Woman in the Hat, Satan finds out Trump bulldozed the East Wing to build a ballroom. Satan thought it was going to be a nursery for their baby. Yes, really.
The construction accidentally unleashes a "wrath" — basically a ghost — that looks like Melania Trump. That kicks off a spiritual mess at the White House and a séance to figure out what the hell is going on. Also in the mix: a gag where Pam Bondi’s nose is smeared with Trump’s feces as a fairly unsubtle loyalty metaphor. It’s gross. That’s the point.
- White House séance guest list: Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi, and Brendan Carr.
- Side plot: JD Vance and Peter Thiel scheming to kill Satan and Trump’s hybrid child.
The point under the chaos
Even with all the political absurdity, the episode keeps circling back to the same idea: the show knows what fans are saying, and it’s not dodging it. Between the fourth-wall cracks and the kids’ cynical crypto gambit, it feels like Trey Parker and Matt Stone are taking stock of how far the pendulum has swung — and deciding what to do about it.
Why this Halloween special landed the way it did
The Woman in the Hat technically counts as part of Season 28, but it arrived after a turbulent stretch. The team previously delayed the Season 27 finale following controversy around an episode that parodied conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. Given that chaos, fans did not expect a Halloween episode to pop up this early into Season 28.
What’s next and where to watch
The next episode of South Park Season 28 drops Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at 10 p.m. ET on Comedy Central, with streaming the next day on Paramount+.
How are you feeling about this season so far — especially the show calling itself out? Hit the comments.
South Park is available to stream on Paramount+.