Comedy CentralAnyone who has ever watched South Park over the past 23 series already knows you probably shouldn’t take anything they say seriously. Or at the very least, take it with a pinch of salt.
The cartoon never shies away from calling people out, but unfortunately one party has been left grossly inconvenienced by a gag that went wrong on the penultimate episode of its most recent season.
The episode, Basic Cable, featured an in-show commercial encouraging streaming services to contact South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone about acquiring the rights to The Scott Malkinson Show, as well as a number of fake programmes seen within the 23rd season. It was accompanied by a Colorado phone number.
Funnily enough, people who were quick enough to jump on their phones were rewarded with a message from Parker. But, unfortunately, another Colorado resident, with a very similar number, was inundated with calls from hundreds of misdialers.
Trey's number is 719-838-4002. https://t.co/lPumdoUEHn pic.twitter.com/RxwUaAgkKj
— South Park (@SouthPark) December 7, 2019
Detailing the mistake on Facebook, the misfortunate Colorado resident wrote:
So, apparently the episode of South Park that aired on my birthday had Baby Yoda. BUT, it also listed a phone number very similar to my WORK number for people to call.
So.. As you can imagine, tons of people are misdialing this number and calling me instead.
Over the past two days, I have gotten 200+ phone calls and people leaving me random messages.
We just figured out the connection today when one of the guys that called actually engaged in conversation instead of giggling like a teenage girl and hanging up.
Now I feel like I need to watch the episode.
The ACTUAL number to call is 719-838-4002 for anyone interested in listening to the episode’s Easter egg. Please don’t call me at work.
Luckily, the South Park team cottoned on to the mistake and made sure to get their fans calling the correct number.
There’s certainly a lesson to be learned here in dialling responsibly.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.