

‘This Merger Is A Sh*tshow And It’s F*cking Up ‘South Park’’: Trey Parker And Matt Stone Respond To Comedy Central Broadcast Delay
The premiere of South Park Season 27 has been delayed from July 9 to July 23 by Comedy Central, and the show’s creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, are not happy about it.
Following the broadcaster’s announcement of the two-week delay, the duo tweeted from the show’s official X account:
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.”
— South Park (@SouthPark) July 2, 2025
The postponement follows an unwanted two-year hiatus for the show, amid ongoing uncertainty surrounding its streaming rights following the expiration of a $500 million exclusive deal with HBO Max. That deal ended recently and has yet to be replaced, with current negotiations indicating non-exclusive streaming arrangements, according to numerous industry sources.
Paramount Global, the parent company of Comedy Central and co-owner of South Park Digital Studios alongside creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, aims to bring the show to its own streaming platform, Paramount+. In May, Paramount executives announced plans for South Park to begin streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S. starting in July. However, as of July 1, the series had not appeared on the platform.
Complicating matters further, South Park’s streaming rights are being offered to multiple platforms, including HBO Max’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Netflix. A recent legal letter from Parker and Stone’s representatives accuses Skydance, RedBird, and executive Jeff Shell, soon to become President of Paramount Global, of interfering in these negotiations. The letter claims they attempted to persuade WBD to accept a shorter licensing term and delay access to new episodes until after a year of exclusivity on Paramount+.
For now, South Park remains available on Max through a temporary extension, and Paramount+ still intends to begin streaming it in conjunction with the new season’s launch. Despite the legal wrangling, fans can expect the beloved characters to return later in July, though the long-term streaming future remains unresolved.