If you enjoy a show with absolutely no filter, is hilarious, gradually cooks, passes along subtle innuendos, understands how to throw shade, and highlights important social and environmental issues, South Park is for you!
The adult animated series first aired in 1997 and celebrated 26 seasons, with a new one set for a 2025 release. Whether it's a dad joke, a dirty one, or even a dark one, the show understands the assignment. Trey Parker and Matt Stone's creative minds brilliantly concocted the show, which was further developed by Brian Garden from Comedy Central.
There have been some pretty ROFL moments on the show, so take a trip down memory lane and relive the 10 funniest South Park episodes over the years!
Disclaimer: This article is solely based on the author's opinion and contains spoilers for South Park. Reader discretion is advised.
Top 10 Hilarious South Park episodes ranked
1) Casa Bonita - Season 7, episode 11
The show is an amalgam of a promo and an episode, especially since South Park co-creators Stone and Parker named it after their eponymic food joint, Casa Bonita.
The episode commemorates Kyle Broflovski's birthday, presenting an opportunity to visit the restaurant. However, there’s room only for one: Butters Stotch or Eric Cartman. Cartman coerces a gullible Butters to back off in a dramatic string of lies.
2) The Death of Eric Cartman - Season 9, episode 6
This was perhaps one of the many impressionable episodes that was a pure essence of comedy and didn’t address any issue or diss a celeb. It was a classic once-trending prank on convincing a friend you died!
Exhausted by Cartman’s antics, his entire band of friends ignore him, resulting in him briefly diving into an existential crisis. To get back at his friends, Cartman convinces his friends that he is dead. His first mark is his buddy Butters Cartman, who had unfinished business before crossing over. Poor Butters!
3) Make Love not Warcraft - Season 10, episode 8
The most noteworthy part about South Park is that it leaves no stone unturned, including Warcraft in its world! Episode 8 of season 10 sees Cartman and the gang glued to their screens for hours to serve justice in a game with a psychopath murderer on the loose.
4) The List - Season 11, episode 14
The episode centers around the immature and innocent ranking system of the hottest guys in school. After Cartman and the gang learn of this rather inconspicuous list concocted by fourth-graders, the comedy truly unravels. While some egos are bruised, others skyrocket.
Little do they know that the girls had ulterior motives for that particular gang to read the list, whose contents remain unknown.
5) The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers - Season 6, episode 13
In the spirit of the hype around the Lord of the Rings franchise, Cartman and his group challenge themselves to reenact parts of the show. They pick specific roles from the installment and challenge each other to a quest. Their plan to deliver the installment's CD from the shop they rented it from goes south when they learn that the DVD's content is explicit.
6) The Losing Edge - Season 9, episode 5
Cartman and his friends’ summer plans are about to get ruined with the baseball season in play: they might have to play in the off-season. The gang decides to take extreme measures to prevent that from happening, including self-injury.
Randy’s drunken episodes somehow land him in a Rocky-like scenario against Bat Dad. The episode explores a whole training and fight sequence between the two! There appear to be no complaints from the boys because if Randy is injured, there’s no coach, meaning Summer is still on.
7) Black Friday - Season 17, episode 7
This episode dives into the ethos of a real-life black friday sale with a South Park twist. As establishments and authorities on the show gear up for a life-or-death sale, Cartman and the gang pick a gaming system to vouch for and support. Oh, they all dress up for the occasion in costumes!
8) Member Berries - Season 20 episode 1
Season 20, episode 1 is about reminiscing and falling down the rabbit hole of nostalgia. Episode 1 of the new season starts with a banger and a heavy emphasis on the negatives of wanting to relive the past. Furthermore, the episode also unravels how those thoughts have led to cementing former President Donald Trump’s presidency.
9) Le Petit Tourette - Season 11, episode 8
This episode ranks in the bottom tier concerning humor primarily due to its focus. Moreover, the TSA—Tourette Syndrome Association has also praised it for delivering “surprisingly well-researched” content about Tourettes. In episode 8 of season 11, Cartman mimics his classmate Thomas’s Tourettes to escape the consequences of his statements.
The show raises awareness about the phenomenon and reveals how little we understand about it. Additionally, it calls out some of the injustices endured by people like Thomas in the real world.
10) Scott Tenorman Must Die - Season 5, episode 4
Now for the least hilarious episode is South Park: Scott Tenorman Must Die. The series is known to push the boundaries when it concerns dark humor, and they didn’t hold back with the episode. It revolves around Tenorman taking advantage of Cartman’s innocence by lying to him about attaining puberty earlier.
Cartman looks for ways to get back at him, and after a series of unconventional pranks, they finally decide to have a cookoff. Cue trigger warning: Cartman makes Tenorman resort to cannibalism—the suspicious-looking chili turns out to be his parents.
To make matters even more gnarly, he finds his mother’s finger with the ring still on it! Naturally, he suffers a psychotic episode and promises never to bother Cartman.
The world of South Park might appear dark, unsettling, and sometimes offensive. But it has some thought-provoking moments and is brilliant at educating people on current affairs.
Season 26 of South Park is available to stream on Paramount +. Keep following Soap Central for more!
