Fans and critics alike took to social media to react to South Park’s latest satire about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
From creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the show follows the young royals, the Prince and Princess of Canada, who fly around the world on a Global Privacy Tour to promote his autobiography ‘Aaargh’.
Following the release of Wednesday’s episode, many were quick to publish their reactions online, saying that even 26 years on the show “has the best writers in the game by far!”
Others said the episode brought them back after being bored with the show years ago, while drawing in new viewers because they had never heard of South Park.
The Prince and Princess decide to flee Canada, after ‘pounding’ the monarchy
The latest South Park aired Wednesday on Comedy Central and focused on Harry and Meghan
South Park announced that the episode would run on Twitter on Wednesday
The episode focused on a red-haired prince and his wife from Canada who become frustrated with public attention after a family feud.
The show has previously used Canada as a stand-in for other countries. In season nineteen, the new Canadian president – who bears more than a resemblance to Donald Trump – tries to build a massive border wall to keep the Americans out.
The show attracted new viewers, including Twitter user Canellelabelle who said, ‘I’ve never heard of this show until now, but THIS is hilarious! They sum up exactly how we all view this irritating duo.’
Twitter user Pièce de Résistance, who said they got bored with South Park “years ago,” said they might watch the controversial episode, “which, [by the way] is exactly why Trey and Matt did a Harry and Meghan episode,” they said.
“They will mock everything ruthlessly.”
‘It just means [Harry and Meghan] are famous enough to attract viewers.
South Park is notorious for haunting figures of popular culture.
While it has played with “themes” in recent seasons, such as ridiculing political correctness, gentrification, and advertising, among other things, the show has generally been very broad in who and what it satirizes over the past 26 seasons.
Routine depictions of the Mormons — the creators also wrote the hit show “The Book of Mormon” — have drawn criticism from members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The depiction of different religious and social communities has generated many reactions from across the political spectrum for years.
The duo’s animation focuses on a mix of causes, including major and minor religions, pop singers, Republican and Democratic presidents, climate change activism, and climate change denial.
Fans took to Twitter to praise South Park creators, writers and voice actors Parker and Stone
Some acknowledged the attention to detail in the satire that has ridiculed popular figures and topics of conversation for years
Host Oprah Winfrey has been portrayed in a number of South Park episodes since 2000
The show supposedly won back some viewers because of its depiction of the royals
…and other viewers who had never heard of the show before watching the episode
While many fans enjoyed the story, others had less positive reactions.
Twitter’s Kitty, who says she’s been a fan since its 1997 debut, said the show wasn’t a “tribute” but mocked Harry and Meghan.
User Ryan Craig himself questioned the satire, saying the creators were “grabbing straws.”
NativeBrony_91 gave a more average review of the episode with “6 out of 10.”
South Park’s original tweet was viewed 265.1k times and liked 3,823 times.
Christopher Bouzy said Twitter allowed targeted harassment by related accounts targeting the pair.
Not all were sold during the episode, some viewers found it mediocre
Others said the show went too far, not so much mocking the couple as subjecting them to “cheeky ridicule”
Some weren’t fans of the satire, suggesting the writers didn’t know how to make fun of the topic of conversation
Others felt that the episode allowed for targeted harassment, highlighting the couple about their experiences
The episode itself begins with Kyle’s younger brother Ike, adopted from Canada, broken hearted by the news that the Queen of Canada – resembling the late Queen Elizabeth II – is dead.
The Prince and Princess of Canada are seen at a large state funeral, where they are booed by the rest of the royal family, who have been accused of bashing the Canadian monarchy.
Against his reluctance, the couple appears on breakfast television to claim their privacy.
Arriving on the set of Good Morning Canada with a book to promote, the prince holds up a sign that says “We want privacy,” while the princess’s banner reads, “Stop looking at us.”
The presenter asks whether in his coverage of the royal family for his new book ‘Waaagh’ he has now become a journalist himself, despite hating them.
“We just want to be normal people – all that attention is so hard,” replies the prince.
The pair are taunted by the host who questions how genuinely they want privacy, and the royals storm off the set.
The Prince and Princess arrive on the set of Good Morning Canada to boo, holding up signs
In Paris, stunned locals watch as the pair chant, “We want our privacy!!”
The couple boards their private jet and embarks on a global “we want privacy” tour – complete with dancing rainbows and a catchy theme song.
They visit France and India, chanting their pro-privacy slogans to stunned locals – and even a field of kangaroos during a pit stop in Australia.
They eventually settle in the quiet town of South Park, Colorado.
“If we moved here, people would think we really want to be serious that we want to be normal.”
The royals clash with the locals, arriving with a drum kit and demanding privacy from neighbours.
Kyle wakes up one morning to discover that the house is full of magazines with the princess on them.
They feature a cover very similar to that of The Cut magazine after it conducted a cover interview with Meghan last summer.
When Kyle confronts the royals, the princess yells, “He victimized me!”
The prince comes to his wife’s defense.
“This is a shame!” he is crying. “We’ll see how he handles my blue penis!”
This seems to refer to a case of frostbite described in Harry’s autobiography, Spare.
The Prince and Princess turn to a crudely named marketing agency for help protecting their privacy.
“A terrible spy lives opposite us,” the prince explains.
The branding manager says he already has a file on the princess, which she created several years ago.
“I already have your brand: sorority girl, actress, influencer, and victim,” he tells her.
The Prince’s brand is defined as: “Prince Royal, Millionaire, World Traveler, Victim.”
Across the street, the Prince and Princess of Canada can peer through a window as Kyle takes in their handiwork
The Prince, inside the agency, suddenly has a lightbulb moment and realizes he doesn’t want to be a brand.
“By making ourselves a brand, we have simply become products,” explains the Canadian prince.
“No more magazines and Netflix shows, we can just live a normal life!”
He gets up to leave and heads for the door – but his wife stays inside the brand company.
“Come on honey, we don’t need this place!” he says. ‘Honey?’
The prince goes off alone.
Kyle rejoins his friends, who invite him to play.
The prince then arrives and asks if he can play too.
He pulls out his drum kit.
