If you’re looking for some streaming drama, head on down to South Park.
The new season of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s long-running animated juggernaut was slated to premiere Wednesday, July 9 on Comedy Central, but unfortunately, that’s no longer the case.
The premiere date has been pushed due to the ongoing uncertainty regarding the show’s lucrative streaming rights. In June, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Parker and Stone have threatened legal action, accusing incoming Paramount president Jeff Shell of meddling in contract negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery and Netflix.
Trey and Matt responded to news about the show’s delay by releasing a statement lambasting Paramount’s merger with Skydance.
“This merger is a shitshow and it’s fucking up South Park,” the statement reads. “We are at the studio working on new episodes and we hope the fans get to see them somehow.”
Yikes. When exactly does South Park return with new episodes? Here’s everything we know.
As we mentioned above, the Season 27 premiere date has been pushed. The season premiere, which was originally scheduled to air July 9 on Comedy Central, has been moved to Wednesday, July 23.
You can watch new episodes of South Park live on Comedy Central.
You can also find a Comedy Central live stream with an active subscription to Philo, Sling TV, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, or DirecTV.
Nope. While Paramount+ is the home of numerous South Park specials, the series isn’t currently streaming on the platform. It’s likely that Seasons 1-26, as well as the upcoming season, will find their way to Paramount+ before the show returns with new episodes, but nothing is official.
It’s all still up in the air. Per Deadline, South Park’s $500 million exclusive streaming deal with HBO Max expired a week ago and has yet to be replaced by a new one. Back in May, Paramount Global co-CEO Chris McCarthy said that South Park will return to Paramount+ in July, but that has yet to happen.
As we mentioned above, Paramount+ is still expected to start streaming the show in time for the new season, but for now, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Clearly, Trey Parker and Matt Stone are unhappy with all the uncertainty surrounding the premiere date as well as the ongoing streaming chaos, noting that Paramount’s merger with Skydance is a “shitshow” that’s “fucking up South Park.”
As of now, the first 26 seasons of the show are streaming on HBO Max.
South Park returns Wednesday, July 23 on Comedy Central.