South Park finally returned for Season 21 on September 13, and the premiere delivered all of the irreverent humor we've come to expect out of the series. The episode was called "White People Renovating Houses" and made a mockery of the the white nationalist movement and the Confederate flag, so the odds were pretty good that people were going to be riled up. As it turns out, however, the biggest reaction out of viewers has had nothing to do with the Confederate flag and everything to do with Amazon's Alexa and Google Home.
The subplot of "White People Renovating Houses" featured Cartman messing with his Alexa by giving prank commands. For many viewers, it was just a new demonstration of Cartman messing around. For others... well, Cartman's comments struck home in an unexpected way. Owners of Alexa and Google Home found their devices reacting to what Cartman was saying on screen, and they took to Twitter to share what was happening. Here's just one example of what Cartman did to Alexa:
Let nobody say that South Park doesn't stay current! The Season 21 premiere touched on modern technology so effectively that fans' real devices were reacting to the plots. Fans with Alexa and/or Google Home devices probably got a big surprise out of the episode, and quite possibly woke up to some unexpected shopping lists that were recorded during the episode. Who could have predicted that Cartman interacting with real-life Alexas would be a result of the premiere?
That said, South Park may not stay on top of all current events. Although the series was quite harsh to Donald Trump in earlier seasons, Trey Parker has revealed that he and South Park co-creator Matt Stone intended to back off of political humor somewhat, even admitting during hiatus that they were glad not to be on the air during some of the political upheavals of the summer. Only time will tell if Season 21 will take the show back into political parody. The premiere certainly proved that South Park could bring the laughs without taking on the Trump administration.
There is one way we know Season 21 will change, however. Trey Parker recently said that he wants the show to get back to "kids being kids and being ridiculous and outrageous" without the political slant. He even teased the return of Cartman dressing like a robot to mess with Butters. New episodes of South Park Season 21 air on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on Comedy Central. For your other options on the small screen now and in the not-too-distant future, take a gander at our fall TV premiere guide, and be sure to stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in TV news.
