'South Park' Comedy Central Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text After the much-talked-about season 27 premiere of South Park, on-air viewers turned out in significantly larger numbers for the show's second episode. The Aug. 6 installment, which mocked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem (who was not pleased) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, drew 838,000 viewers for its initial airing on Comedy Central - almost double the 430,000 who tuned into the season premiere on July 23. That's the third-highest initial tune-in for South Park in the past three seasons, behind a March 2023 episode about ChatGPT (in which the AI bot is credited as a co-writer with Trey Parker) that drew 1.04 million viewers and the season 25 premiere in February 2022, which logged 844,000 viewers. Related Stories TV Streaming Ratings: 'Love Island USA' Hits No. 1 Overall in Finale Week TV 'South Park' Portrays Kristi Noem as a Puppy-Shooting, Face-Melting ICE Villain The season premiere - which took aim at President Donald Trump, depicting him in bed with Satan (among other jabs) - grew to 5.9 million viewers with three days of streaming on Paramount+ and other delayed viewing, so the on-air growth for Wednesday's episode likely bodes well its eventual total. Cross-platform numbers are likely to be available next week. The Noem-baiting episode was also Wednesday's No. 2 primetime show among adults 18-49 with about 455,000 viewers in the key ad demographic (more than the total audience for the season premiere). CBS' Big Brother led the demo with a little over 800,000 viewers ages 18-49. The surge for South Park also had a positive effect on its lead-out, Digman! The animated series starring Andy Samberg had 264,000 on-air viewers Wednesday after averaging 144,000 for its first two episodes this season. THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up Pee-wee Herman A Tense Dynamic With Paul Reubens Led to The Moving 'Pee-wee as Himself' sponsored When to Stream 'American Prince: JFK Jr.' on CNN with DIRECTV Live Feed 'The Gilded Age' Star Harry Richardson Delves Into Larry Russell's Relationship With Marian Brook Heading Into Finale Live Feed Kristi Noem Fires Back at 'South Park' for Mocking Her Looks Live Feed Latest 'Dexter' Victim Teases Another Resurrection: "I Wouldn't Count Anything Out" Live Feed Seth Rogen Admits He Was Tripping on Mushrooms During His Marc Maron Podcast Interview Pee-wee Herman A Tense Dynamic With Paul Reubens Led to The Moving 'Pee-wee as Himself' sponsored When to Stream 'American Prince: JFK Jr.' on CNN with DIRECTV Live Feed 'The Gilded Age' Star Harry Richardson Delves Into Larry Russell's Relationship With Marian Brook Heading Into Finale Live Feed Kristi Noem Fires Back at 'South Park' for Mocking Her Looks Live Feed Latest 'Dexter' Victim Teases Another Resurrection: "I Wouldn't Count Anything Out" Live Feed Seth Rogen Admits He Was Tripping on Mushrooms During His Marc Maron Podcast Interview