“South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone don’t find anything funny about the planned acquisition of Paramount Global by Skydance Media.
“In response to the press release from Comedy Central about the change in premiere date for South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone said: This merger is a s**tshow and it’s f**king up South Park,” the two wrote in a post shared on social media. “We are at the studio working on new episodes and we hope the fans get to see them somehow.”
“South Park” airs on Comedy Central, which is a part of Paramount. The company is in the process of being sold to Skydance Media.
New episodes of “South Park” were scheduled to air after a two-year wait on July 9. The Season 27 premiere has been pushed to July 23.
The delay comes amid uncertainty and negotiations over streaming rights to the popular animated property, according to Deadline. “South Park” had an exclusive streaming contract with HBO Max that expired last week.
Paramount Global recently announced an agreement to pay $16 million to resolve a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump over a “60 Minutes” news report aired on CBS last fall.
The merger is reportedly expected to close on July 6, though it could possibly be extended.