South Park’s 20 Best Episodes, Ranked

With the conclusion of South Park season 28, it’s a great time to revisit the show’s history and highlight its 20 best episodes. Created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker, South Park first aired on Comedy Central in August 1997 and quickly gained notoriety for its often shocking and irreverent humor.

Even though South Park has evolved since its first season, it’s still known for its crude and often shocking humor. In fact, the show has become more controversial over time, and many episodes have been banned in various countries due to their offensive material.

Despite its often outrageous content, South Park is a clever, creative, and occasionally heartwarming show. Centered around the adventures of Kyle, Stan, Cartman, Kenny, and Butters – a group of young friends from the town of South Park, Colorado – the series uses humor that spans from current political commentary to bizarre situations and shocking, over-the-top gags.

20. The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka (Season 2, Episode 6)

Custom image by Milica Djordjevic

As a long-time viewer, I always point to Season 2’s “The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka” as a turning point for South Park. It’s one of the first episodes where the show really seemed to know it was a show, you know? The plot is simple: Stan’s uncle Jimbo and a war buddy claim to have seen this crazy frog, which turns out to be a hoax the boys concocted. But what’s brilliant is how the episode skewers the media’s tendency to completely lose its mind over the silliest things. It’s a classic example of South Park holding a mirror up to our own absurdity.

This episode of South Park cleverly satirizes the television industry, and it’s still relevant today. The show pokes fun at executives who exploit controversy – in this case, a ridiculous rumor about a supposed Mexican Staring Frog in Sri Lanka – to boost ratings. Despite often being known for simple shock value, this episode demonstrates that South Park can actually be quite intelligent.

19. Britney’s New Look (Season 12, Episode 2)

Before the documentary Framing Britney gained widespread attention, South Park surprisingly offered a compassionate take on Britney Spears’ struggles in 2007. In a season 12 episode titled “Britney’s New Look,” the show’s characters attempt to support Britney following a suicide attempt, and end up stumbling upon a hidden conspiracy.

This bizarre plot—where celebrities are driven to suicide to ensure a good harvest—is reminiscent of Shirley Jackson’s story, “The Lottery.” Despite its absurdity, this episode of South Park is both unsettling and humorous, proving how remarkably insightful it is.

18. The End of Obesity

(Image courtesy of Everett Collection)

Between 2020 and 2024, South Park released several specials, but not all of them were particularly strong. While The Streaming Wars had some smart storylines and The POST-COVID Saga was enjoyable, Not Suitable for Children felt disjointed and lacked a clear focus. Additionally, the two separate stories in Joining the Panderverse didn’t really come together in a satisfying way.

However, the 2024 special, The End of Obesity, really demonstrated the potential of this type of episode for South Park. While it started with Cartman losing weight using Ozempic, the story quickly expanded to cover topics like body image, highly processed foods, and the problems with healthcare in America.

17. Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo (Season 1, Episode 9)

The ninth episode of South Park’s first season, “Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo,” is considered a standout and the show’s first truly memorable episode. It’s also the first Christmas special, and features Kyle encountering a talking piece of excrement who attempts to explain the real spirit of Christmas.

Looking back, some of the jokes about religion feel very much of their time – specifically, the 1990s – and are surprisingly funny. Despite its silliness, this show is still a joy to rewatch. While The End of Obesity might offer more substantial commentary, few shows capture the wild, creative energy of early South Park episodes like this one.

16. Tweek V Craig (Season 4, Episode 5)

The episode “Tweek V Craig” is one of South Park’s most ridiculous. It mainly revolves around the boys trying to make Craig and Tweek fight, which provides most of the humor. There’s also a surprisingly dark and funny side story about their shop teacher dealing with loss, culminating in a shockingly funny and gruesome scene.

15. The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers (Season 6, Episode 13)

Over its many seasons, South Park has playfully imitated numerous films, including It and The Shining. But the episode “The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers” from season 6 stands out as a particularly affectionate and well-done parody.

The episode features the boys dressing up as characters from The Lord of the Rings and embarking on a quest: returning the first movie to the video store. It’s a humorous take on Peter Jackson’s trilogy, mixing affectionate nods with playful parody, typical of South Park.

14. Woodland Critter Christmas (Season 8, Episode 14)

While the Woodland Critters from the South Park episode “Woodland Critter Christmas” might return in the show’s 28th season finale, nothing has quite matched the wild strangeness of their original appearance. In that Christmas special, Stan tries to help these seemingly perfect animals prepare for the birth of their “Saviour,” but he eventually realizes they’re actually talking about the Antichrist.

“Woodland Critter Christmas” is a shockingly funny and bizarre Christmas special – exactly the kind of thing you’d expect from South Park. Because the whole episode is presented as a story told by Cartman, it lets the show recapture the silly, carefree humor that made early seasons of South Park so popular.

13. The Black Friday Trilogy (Season 17, Episode 7)

Okay, this one’s a little different – the South Park episodes “Black Friday,” “A Song of Ass and Fire,” and “Titties and Dragons” (season 17, episodes 7-9) are technically a three-part story. But this hilarious parody of Game of Thrones is definitely worth including on this list.

This special three-part South Park episode takes a simple schoolyard fight between the boys and turns it into a grand, fantastical story reminiscent of Game of Thrones. While it’s full of goofy humor and playful absurdity, the trilogy also cleverly satirizes the popular HBO series.

12. Raisins (Season 7, Episode 14)

In Season 7, episode 14, titled “Raisins,” Stan fixates on a childhood breakup, but the episode is best remembered for Butters’ visit to Raisins, a humorous take-off on the restaurant Hooters. This outrageous storyline is why many fans consider it a standout and a must-include in any list of the show’s best episodes.

11. Pip (Season 4, Episode 14)

The South Park episode “Pip” (season 4, episode 14) is famously controversial, but it deserves recognition for its creativity. Instead of following the show’s regular characters, this episode reimagines Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations through the eyes of its main character, Pip, in a surprisingly funny and overlooked story.

2025-12-22 17:20