‘South Park’ Wins Bigly By Meeting Political Moment, Says Herzog ’81: NYT

Emerson College Trustee member Doug Herzog ’81, LHD ’08, P ’13, knows a lot about South Park — after all, as the former president of Comedy Central, he is responsible for bringing the irreverent cartoon to TV.

And with South Park’s new season, the cheeky series has shot back up the ratings as the creators have mocking the current federal administration. As the show has taken on politics, and made it pop culture, its viewership has more than doubled in the past four months compared to 2023 (it’s last season), according to Nielson.

Herzog spoke to The New York Times about South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker taking on the federal administration, and doing it successfully.

“It all created a perfect storm for them, and they jumped right into it,” said Doug Herzog, a former longtime executive at Viacom, which once owned Comedy Central. “They met the moment in a way only they could do.”

Herzog led the Viacom Music and Entertainment Group from 2004 to 2016, and is credited with creating and producing television shows that changed American culture, as president of MTV Productions in the 1980s and of Comedy Central in the 1990s.

Herzog was recently inducted into the WERS Hall of Fame during 2025’s alumni weekend.

Inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame in 2014 for his many contributions to the industry, Herzog has led the development of an extraordinary number of megahit television shows, including The Real World, Unplugged, Road Rules, MTV Movie Awards and MTV Video Music Awards, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, South Park, Broad City, Key & Peele, Inside Amy Schumer, Hot in Cleveland, and Lip Sync Battle.