You can’t get rid of Eric Cartman that easy, folks. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are reportedly close to securing a major breakthrough deal for the show’s streaming rights, after lengthy and tense negotiations in the wake of the Paramount-Skydance merger.
Paramount agreed on July 21 to purchase the streaming rights for South Park to be part of the Paramount+ catalog, according to The Los Angeles Times. The deal — in which Parker and Stone’s company Park County Productions agreed to produce 10 episodes a year — is not yet final, but according to the outlet, it is being valued at a whopping $300 million a year and is expected to pull through.
The deal, which will span five years, will garner the streamer over $1.5 billion over the length of their contract — which makes this one of the most valuable franchises in television at the moment. To be fair, it makes sense! South Park took the world by storm when it debuted in 1997 and blew up as a franchise in the years since, with countless specials, a theatrical film, video games, merchandise, and more.
But South Park’s future recently felt like it was up in the air after the expiry of HBO Max’s previous streaming rights to the show, which ended in June and has since left the show in the lurch. Parker and Stone seemed to be frustrated both with the ensuing streaming deal battle as well as how the Paramount-Skydance merger was affecting the production of the series, which has only aired six episodes and three specials since February 2023.
After Paramount delayed the season 27 premiere from July 9 to July 23, the creative team took to social media to share their feelings. “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,’” their statement read after the network’s announcement on July 2. “We are at the studio working on new episodes and we hope the fans get to see them somehow.”
Thankfully, it seems as though Parker and Stone will get some creative harmony — you know, amidst the South Park chaos, of course — very soon.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
