Over 4mn watch South Park's 'Pandemic Special,' creates history
The Pandemic Special of South Park has set a whole new record in the history of Comedy Central. The one-hour-long episode hit the nail hard on most of the pressing issues of 2020, the first and foremost being coronavirus pandemic. And its brutal and brave narrative of the society thrown into the wind has made over 4.05mn viewers relate to it instantly.
The episode got 168% higher rating than average of Season-23
The Season 24 premiere of the sitcom became the first episode in seven years of its airing to score 2.3 million viewers on both formats of live and same-day viewing. The episode got a 2.1 rating, which is 168% higher than the average rating of Season 23. The episode also grabbed the title of the highest-rated scripted telecast on ad-supported cable network in 2020.
It dealt with school reopening under COVID-19 restrictions
The show also received a 178% hike in average viewership through simulcasting on MTV, Paramount Network, VH1, CMT, Pop TV, and TV Land. South Park is a satire known for political and social references cutting across American communities. This episode presented the topsy-turvy scenarios in schools as they reopen under the condition that both the students and the teachers obey social distancing norms.
Sample this amazing dialogue: "Chin diapers don't help"
The script and targets of attack on this episode exceeded expectations of a regular South Park fan. For starters, the show attacked the public ignorance about wearing a mask in the wrong way. In the episode, Stephen Stotch, father of Butters, is shown screaming at neighbors for not covering their mouth or nose with the masks. "Chin diapers don't help," comments Stotch.
Addressing pressing social issues while maintaining humor, sarcasm
Breezing over US election campaign styles and the Zoom online class frenzy, this episode didn't step back from addressing the Black Lives Matter movement either. Showing a scuffle between Kyle and Eric Cartman interrupted by cops firing at them, the only Black kid in the class gets shot at. However, the kid is shown to be admitted to the hospital due to COVID-19 infection!
