South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are, to put it mildly, not happy about the proposed merger between Comedy Central parent Paramount Global and Skydance Media.
In a blistering statement in response to the show’s Season 27 premiere date change announced earlier today, Parker and Stone wrote on X, “This merger is a shitshow and is fucking up South Park. We are at the studio working on new episodes and we hope the fans get to see them somehow.”
The Season 27 premiere on Comedy Central, originally slated for July 9, is being moved to July 23.
The premiere delay comes amid tension — including a legal threat — over South Park‘s lucrative streaming rights as the series was caught in the uncertainty over Skydance’s pending acquisition of Paramount Global, which co-owns the joint venture behind South Park, South Park Digital Studios, with series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone who run it.
The show’s $500 million exclusive streaming licensing deal with HBO Max expired a week ago but has not been replaced by a new exclusive one — or multiple non-exclusive ones.
At the same time, South Park streaming rights — believed to be non-exclusive — have been shopped to other platforms, with HBO Max parent Warner Bros. Discovery and Netflix making bids, according to a legal letter an attorney for Parker and Stone’s Park County sent recently to RedBird, Skydance and RedBird’s Jeff Shell — who is poised to become Paramount Global President upon completion of its proposed acquisition by Skydance — over alleged interference in the deal negotiations.
It was announced late Tuesday night that Paramount Global had reached a settlement with Donald Trump for $16 million over its handling of a 60 Minutes interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s opponent in the presidential election.
