Common Sense Media Review
By Melissa Camacho
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Cheeky, curse-filled special tackles medical weight loss.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
South Park: The End of Obesity
What's the Story?
SOUTH PARK: THE END OF OBESITY is a South Park special about weight-loss drugs, the United States health care system, and body image. When Eric Cartman (Trey Parker) and his mom, Liane (April Stewart), are told that his health is at risk due to his weight, the doctor recommends semaglutide to help him lose it. But insurance won't cover it, so he's prescribed Lizzo, a drug to help him become more body-positive. Despite attempts to file a claim with an insurance company, Cartman is unable to access the medicine that will give him the thin body of his dreams. So, with the help of Kyle (Matt Stone), Stan (Parker), and Kenny (Stone), along with the ever-so-positive Butters Stotch (also Stone), he develops his own formulation of the medicine. Meanwhile, Stan's dad, Randy (Parker), doesn't like the new midriff-revealing crop-top look that all the local semaglutide-injecting South Park moms are wearing and starts to push back. As expected, things soon start to get out of control, which leads to some chaotic consequences.
Is It Any Good?
The irreverent special is a satire about the national hype around semaglutides for weight loss, the U.S. medical insurance industry's attempts to profit from it, and privileged people's misuse of the drug. Like all installments of the franchise, South Park: The End of Obesity contains its trademark cursing, insult hurling, bathroom humor, and inappropriate behaviors that gear it toward adults. But this TV special is smartly focused on cultural attitudes about weight, health, and body image, which is, in part, perpetuated in the United States by food and pharmaceutical industries. It also emphasizes how people in the United States, including those who pay for health insurance, are being forced to navigate a bureaucratic (some say broken) health care system that makes accessing treatments nearly impossible. Granted, it could spend a bit more time focusing on body positivity. As an adult animated comedy, it sometimes crosses the line of what is usually considered tasteful (or at least acceptable) humor. Nonetheless, what is featured here is only slightly more absurd than the reality it is based on.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the role media plays in the way we view our bodies. At what age does media impact kids' body image? Are girls more affected than boys?
South Park first aired in 1997 and continues to be both popular and controversial today. To what does the franchise, including South Park: The End of Obesity, owe its success?
TV Details
- Premiere date : May 4, 2024
- Cast : Trey Parker , Matt Stone , April Stewart
- Network : Paramount+
- Genre : Comedy
- Character Strengths : Perseverance , Teamwork
- TV rating :
- Last updated : May 2, 2025
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