What’s the Beef Between South Park’s Creators and Paramount?

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On July 2nd, Comedy Central unexpectedly disclosed their intention to move the premiere date for season 27 of South Park, initially scheduled for July 9th, to July 23rd instead. This change might have gone unnoticed, but soon after, the show’s creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, voiced their discontent about this decision via South Park’s official X account. In essence, they described the ongoing merger of Comedy Central’s parent company, Paramount Global, with Skydance as a messy situation that was negatively impacting South Park. They are currently working on new episodes and hope that fans get to enjoy them somehow.

If you find it unusual for a two-week delay in the season premiere of a show that has been running since 1997 to be described as “ruining” or “messing up,” it could be because Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s statement lacks some background information. The creators, who co-own South Park with Paramount Global, are also involved in a disagreement with the media conglomerate over the streaming rights to the show. With South Park’s previous exclusive streaming deal with Max (soon to be HBO Max) ending last week, Stone and Parker, along with Paramount Global, have been working to find a new home for the series on a streaming platform or multiple non-exclusive platforms. The creators have accused Paramount of interfering in their negotiations with potential streamers like Warner Bros. Discovery and Netflix, who are reportedly interested in carrying the series. According to The Hollywood Reporter, they have threatened legal action on the matter in a letter to Jeff Shell, the incoming president of Paramount Global. Among their allegations: Paramount Global attempted to persuade Warner Bros. Discovery to agree to a shorter, five-year streaming deal for the series and negotiate terms where it would only stream new seasons of South Park after a 12-month window of exclusivity on Paramount+.

It seems that Paramount Global is focusing on making “South Park” available through their own streaming service, Paramount+. In May, the company’s co-CEO Chris McCarthy mentioned during a call with investors that the series could be streamed on Paramount+ in the U.S. as early as July, but at the moment, it is not yet accessible there. However, fans who want to watch past episodes of “South Park” can still do so, as Paramount Global, Stone, Parker, and Max have extended their previous streaming agreement temporarily. As a result, all 26 seasons of the show are still available on the platform for now.

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2025-07-02 21:53