South Park Fans Are Cracking Up Over The Credits In Season 26's Premiere

"South Park" has made its triumphant return to the small screen with Season 26. While Trey Parker says it's difficult to keep making original jokes, the season got off to a hot start with Episode 1, "Cupid Ye," jumping at the opportunity to give the show's spin on the recent Kanye West controversy.

In the episode, Stan and Cartman notice that Kyle is spending more time with Tolkien. To make things "better," Cartman takes matters into his own hands, spreading antisemitic rumors to Tolkien and others about Kyle. Cupid Me helps Cartman in his quest to split up Kyle and Tolkien, changing his name to Cupid Ye. While Cartman continues spewing nonsense to the students, Cupid Ye takes it to another level, saying things even Cartman thinks go too far. He uses his arrows to create an army of followers who threaten to attack Kyle. Cartman confronts Cupid Ye, forcing him to take his medication and returning him to his normal form.

Even though the credits roll afterward, Parker and Stone have one final poke at the Jewish conspiracy theory. Instead of crediting the creative duo equally, as "South Park" has done for years, Episode 1's credits "reveal" it was written and directed by Stone, a Jewish filmmaker, while Parker served as his assistant. Parker and Stone never want to offend anyone with "South Park," showing that they can even make fun of themselves for the sake of comedy.

The Season 26 premiere of "South Park" ignited social media with reactions to Trey Parker and Matt Stone making fun of Kanye West and his antisemitic conspiracies. On Twitter, @LSMark_ said, "The episode was pretty good, but the highlight was the end where they give Matt Stone all the credit." @Nick_Frangops couldn't believe the two animators used themselves to cement the episode-long bit, finding it absolutely hilarious that they gave Stone all of the credit. While the joke may have gone over the heads of casual viewers, devoted "South Park" fans understood the reference, and @desulttory___ hopes that everyone caught on to what the creatives meant by the simple change in titles. 

The reactions on Reddit were more of the same, with "South Park" fans expressing their love for Parker and Stone's comedic style. U/Average_Ant_Games and u/trapphd put it plainly, with the former saying, "LMAO at the credit joke! 'Created by Matt Stone.'" U/moremysterious admitted that the credits made them laugh more than the entire episode, writing, "The funniest joke was the end credits, legit got me good." U/redzmangrief pointed out how funny the joke was in context with the episode, saying, "Trey Parker being listed as 'Assistant to Mr. Stone' in the credits is funny considering." The user then took it upon themselves to educate others that didn't understand the reference, pointing out that Stone is Jewish and that listing Parker as his assistant plays up the conspiracy theme.