Parents' Guide to

South Park

By Marjorie Kase, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Outrageous, shocking humor carries a message.

South Park Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

Community Reviews

age 13+

Based on 287 parent reviews

age 10+

Funny!

Awesome show!. Yes, it has sex, smoking, and lost of cussing but some episodes actually have messages. If your kid is 10 or older they should be able to handle it.

This title has:

Great messages
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
10 people found this helpful.
age 13+

Wow, what a great show!

Here's what I have to say. The show is amazing. Highly recommend for 13 and up. Just make sure your teens don't imitate it.

This title has:

Great messages
Too much swearing
8 people found this helpful.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (287 ):
Kids say (994 ):

Shocking, offensive, and often hilarious, the show continues to undermine authority with its creative and insightful critiques of the media, politics, and celebrity hype. Though not without controversy, South Park has a unique way of underscoring the hypocrisy of political correctness and poking holes in pretension.

The irreverent series requires a certain level of media literacy to understand its essential message. Granted, the show's serious points occasionally get muddled in its outrageousness. But for the most part, later installments are as fresh as they were in the show's first few years. South Park's simple animation style allows it to be produced much more quickly and inexpensively than most animated series, making it possible to tackle current events and news stories. The creators have also taken advantage of their creative freedom to focus later seasons of the show on topics that interest (and probably irritate) Stone and Parker, such as internet outrage.

TV Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate