‘South Park' Episode Ridiculing Trump Draws 5.9 Million Viewers

Forbes

6 days ago

Comedy Central's South Park has had a very good month, with the long-running show's Season 27 premiere drawing a total audience of 5.9 million viewers, according to Paramount, which streams the show on Comedy Central and Paramount+. It marks South Park's biggest premiere episode since 1999, fueled in part by the significant buzz the episode generated with its mockery of Donald Trump and Comedy Central's parent company, Paramount Global.
In the premiere episode, titled 'Sermon on the 'Mount," Trump is seen in bed with the Devil, and wielding his power to arrest and sue his enemies. The episode is noteworthy as it comes just days after the approval of a merger between Paramount and Skydance, which South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone suggested led to a delay in the show's premiere date.
Show creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker tear into the Paramount Skydance merger
'In response to the press release from Comedy Central about the change in premiere date for South Park," said a statement posted to the show's page on X, "Trey Parker and Matt Stone said – 'This merger is a s--- show and it's f---ing up South Park. We are at the studio working on new episodes and we hope the fans get to see them somehow.''
The White House was unimpressed with the Trump-focused episode, with spokesperson Taylor Rogers telling multiple outlets the show 'hasn't been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention.'
The show's merciless ridicule of Trump--which included graphic taunts about the president's manhood--comes as the fallout from the $8 billion Paramount and Skydance merger included an agreement that Paramount would pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Trump over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris and a concession that CBS install a 'bias monitor' at the network.
CBS also announced it would cancel its decades-long franchise in late night, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, citing financial difficulties in continuing production of the show. The timing of the decision led many to suggest the decision to cut Colbert was likely related to the hosts frequent jokes made about the president.
'Cowardly capitulation that could set a dangerous precedent'
In an interview with PBS, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the lone dissenting vote in the 2-1 FCC vote to approve the merger, described as 'cowardly capitulation that could set a dangerous precedent, reshaping the future of entertainment, while eroding the freedom of the press.'
No such capitulation coming from South Park, it would seem. On the heels of its season premiere--which generated huge traffic on YouTube for its Trump segments--a trailer for the second episode shows that the show isn't done with the president just yet, showing Trump sharing a dinner with Satan, and rubbing his leg under the table.