"201" is the sixth episode of the fourteenth season of South Park, and the 201st overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 21, 2010. The episode continued multiple storylines from the previous episode, "200", in which a group of angry celebrities demand South Park produce Muhammad. In "201", a superhero-like group of religious figures team up to save South Park from the celebrities and their monster Mecha-Streisand, while Eric Cartman learns the true identity of his father.
Kyle Broflovski gives a speech about the effectiveness of threats and violence. In the original broadcast and DVD release, the speech is entirely censored with a continuous audio bleep, and Muhammad is replaced by a "CENSORED" bar. Comedy Central was responsible for censoring the audio, drawing massive criticism from audiences, who felt the network did so in response to Islamic terrorist threats.
An image of Muhammad was shown in the 2001 episode "Super Best Friends", but was censored from the 2006 episode "Cartoon Wars Part II" due to the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. This change in Comedy Central's broadcast policy was mocked in the episode "200", which led to further censorship in "201".
South Park Studios issued an apology for not being able to stream the episode.
The fourteenth season of the American animated television series South Park began airing in the United States on Comedy Central between March 17, 2010, and November 17, 2010. The season was headed by the series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who served as executive producers along with Anne Garefino. The season continued to focus on the exploits of protagonists Stan, Kyle, Cartman, Kenny, and Butters in the fictional Colorado mountain town of South Park.
An image of the Muslim prophet Muhammad was shown in the 2001 episode "Super Best Friends", but was later banned from the 2006 episode "Cartoon Wars" due to controversies regarding Muhammad cartoons in European newspapers. This contradiction is mocked in the season fourteen episodes "200" and "201".