South Park season 27 has been delayed by Comedy Central amid a streaming-rights battle between the creators and the channel’s parent company, Paramount Global. The 27th season is now expected to premiere on Wednesday, July 23 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, which represents a two-week scheduling push.
Series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have had enough of this “shitshow” — their words, not ours.
“In response to the press release from Comedy Central about the change in premiere date for South Park Trey Parker & Matt Stone said — ‘This merger is a shitshow and it’s fucking up South Park. We are at the studio working on new episodes and we hope the fans get to see them somehow,’” a tweet posted to South Park’s official X profile reads.
The merger is set to close by July 6, but that could be extended.
The press release in question — announcing the rescheduling of the new season — comes amid a battle over the hit animated series’ streaming rights. As first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Parker and Stone (through their attorney) threatened legal action against Paramount (by way of Skydance, basically), accusing the company’s incoming president Jeff Shell of meddling in their contract negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery and Netflix.
Skydance is set to acquire control of Paramount Global and merge the two companies. David Ellison, the Skydance chief, has handpicked Shell to lead the combined organization.
In a June 21 letter obtained by THR, Park County, the entertainment company run by Parker and Stone, threatened legal action for directing Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery to modify certain terms of their offers in a “manner calculated to benefit Paramount at the expense” of the company. It pointed to Shell urging WBD to give Paramount+ an exclusive 12-month window for new episodes of the show and to shorten the term of the deal from 10 to five years, which could worsen the studio’s bid for the series.
“We hereby demand that you, Redbird, and Skydance immediately cease your interference,” the letter states. “If these activities continue, we will have no choice but to act to both protect our rights and discharge any obligations we may have to the public.”
“You did this behind Park County’s back,” writes Afshin Beyzaee, general counsel for the firm, to Shell. “That self-dealing would have been absolutely restricted if it were done by Paramount itself. So, it is simply outrageous that even before it has been granted the authority to close the merger with Paramount, Redbird and Skydance are jumping the gun and using confidential information of SPDS to purport to make demands on behalf of SPDS that even Paramount has no right to make.”
Park County says that Shell “had no right or authority to be demanding that SPDS’s prospective counterparties make modifications to their proposals, especially modifications that would depress the value of their proposals.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for the David Ellison-led firm said, “Under the terms of the transaction agreement, Skydance has the right to approve material contracts.”
South Park debuted on Comedy Central on August 13, 1997. The series followed a viral animated short — “The Spirit of Christmas” — featuring the show’s characters Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny.
Parker and Stone executive produce South Park along with Anne Garefino and Frank C. Agnone II; Eric Stough, Adrien Beard, Bruce Howell and Vernon Chatman are producers. Christopher Brion is the creative director of South Park Digital Studios, a joint venture between Parker and Stone and Paramount.