Tis the season for new TV shows, and ABC’s latest pilot pick-up is about refugees from the future as an allegory for the struggles in modern immigration. In other words, South Park did it.
Credit: Comedy Central
The Crossing, announced this week, is about refugees from a war-torn country who seek asylum in an American town. Only, twist, they’re actually Americans from 250 years in the future, who’ve travelled back in time for opportunities. There may also be a conspiracy involved, because every show needs one now. It’s an interesting metaphor that plays on very relevant conversations (and fears) about American immigration in 2017.
But again, South Park did it.
Back in 2004, South Park released “Goobacks”, an episode about people from the future who travel back over 1000 years looking for work. It’s a thinly veiled allegory for Mexican immigration, with South Park’s residents happy to hire the time immigrants to perform household tasks at cheap rates… until their own jobs are taken away. It’s also the episode that introduced the classic South Park catchphrase “They took our jobs!”
It’s great to see television embracing original sci-fi, even if it’s yet another show about time travel, but when the guys who admitted The Simpsons already covered everything have already tackled it, you know your premise is unoriginal. Of course, it’s just a pilot at this point, so there’s a chance it won’t get picked up to series.