South Park has five banned episodes that are impossible to watch legally

In spite of its significance as one of the most popular shows of the last 20 years, there are five banned episodes of South Park that you cannot legally watch due to their controversial content.

South Park in its entirety is available on HBO Max, bar these five episodes, after HBO secured the rights to stream the show in an agreement that was estimated to cost approximately $500 million. What is so contentious about these five episodes is that they contain jokes that are subject to censorship regarding the depiction of religious figures, including the Prophet Muhammad which the Quran states should not be portrayed in any image drawn by a human hand.

I know you're curious so the list of episodes are Super Best Friends (Season 5), Cartoon Wars Part I (Season 10), Cartoon Wars Part II (Season 10), 200 (Season 14) and 201 (Season 14).

Super Best Friends involves Stan calling upon the titular league comprising of Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, Moses, Joseph Smith, Krishna, Laozi and Sea Man. At the time that the episode aired, in 2001, there was no outcry over the depiction of the Prophet Muhammad. It was only banned following the death threats sent to Comedy Central staff from radical Muslim organisations in 2010 over the events shown in 200 and 201.

“We were protecting everyone who works here. That was the decision we needed to make. That was the hardest we’ve ever pushed back [over the show’s content],” said Doug Herzog, former chief of Comedy Central, in an interview in 2016. As 200 and 201 referred to the Prophet Muhammad, reacting to controversial cartoons of the religious icon in 2005 and 2007, co-creator Trey Parker said he was disappointed that Comedy Central censored the two episodes so heavily.

And lastly, Cartoon Wars I and II sees Cartman and Kyle try to stop Fox from airing an episode of Family Guy that features Muhammad so that the Muslim audiences aren't offended.

The only way you'll lay eyes on these episodes legally is if you have a DVD or Blu-ray box set lurking in the attic, as they are not included in HBO's selection of South Park.