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By Megan Cartwright
Associate News Editor
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South Park kicked off its 27th season on Wednesday after a hiatus of almost two and a half years and dedicated the entire episode to attacking President Donald Trump, one day after creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone reached a $1.5 billion streaming deal with Paramount.
Newsweek contacted Trump's representative for comment on Thursday via email outside regular working hours.
Why It Matters
Parker and Stone reached a $1.5 billion streaming deal with Paramount after a monthslong bidding war, according to the Los Angeles Times. Paramount is the parent company of Comedy Central, where South Park airs, and CBS—which has received widespread criticism over its decision to cancel The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
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Paramount said it was canceling the late-night talk show because of financial reasons. The company has proposed an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media that requires approval from the Trump administration's Federal Communications Commission. As Stephen Colbert is a known Trump critic, the cancellation has sparked new concerns about the administration's influence over the media.
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What To Know
During the premiere episode, titled "Sermon on the 'Mount," Trump is shown lying in bed with Satan, arguing with the Canadian prime minister and complaining about the size of his penis.
Trump insinuates that he wants to have sex with Satan, but the devil turns him down.
"Come on, Satan. I've been working hard all day," Trump says, to which Satan replies: "You haven't been working! You've been doing your stupid memes and just f****** around."
"Come on, Satan. You know you can't resist this!" Trump says before showing his penis.
"I can't even see anything," Satan says in response. "It's so small."
'South Park' Episode Discusses Trump and 'Epstein List'
The episode also mentioned the "Epstein list," the alleged list of clients involved in convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking operation. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice and FBI released a memo saying they had found "no incriminating 'client list'" after an "exhaustive review" of government documents related to the case.
In the episode, Satan tells Trump as they're lying in bed: "Another random b**** commented on my Instagram that you're on the Epstein list."
"The Epstein list?" Trump asks. "Are we still talking about that?"
"Well are you on the list or not?" Satan says. "It's weird that whenever it comes up, you just tell everyone to relax."
"I'm not telling everyone to relax," Trump replies.
On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi told Trump in May that his name appeared multiple times in files related to Epstein's case.
White House communications director Steven Cheung denied the report, telling the outlet, "This is another fake news story, just like the previous story by The Wall Street Journal."
'South Park' Episode Discusses Trump's 60 Minutes Lawsuit
The Comedy Central program also took a jab at Paramount over its $16 million settlement of Trump's 60 Minutes lawsuit and the Late Show cancellation.
Colbert had also called out Paramount over the settlement days before CBS canceled his show.
"While I was on vacation, my parent corporation Paramount paid Donald Trump a $16 million settlement over his 60 Minutes lawsuit," Colbert said in a monologue on The Late Show. "As someone who has always been a proud employee of this network, I am offended, and I don't know if anything will ever repair my trust in this company. But just taking a stab at it, I'd say $16 million would help."
Trump previously accused 60 Minutes of editing its interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee in the 2024 presidential election, in a "deceitful" way, which the news program denied.
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The Bigger Picture
YouTuber Blooms, who boasts 526,000 subscribers on the platform and makes videos about South Park, took to X to share their analysis of the season 27 opener, noting that Trump was not the "intended target."
"Matt and Trey are simply rage baiting him with one goal in mind: f*** over paramount," the YouTuber wrote. "They want to p*** him off so bad that he either sues paramount again or refuses to let the merger happen."
South Park's premiere was delayed from July 9 to July 23 because of contract negotiations, "much to the chagrin of Parker and Stone," Forbes reported.
"So literally the day after paramount signs a deal with them and settles with Trump, they decide to enact their revenge for all the times paramount has screwed them over by taking advantage of Donald Trumps insecurity—after just taking $1.5 billion from the company," Blooms continued. "This is supervillain-level 200 iq plays from Matt and Trey, and they just became billionaires from it."
What People Are Saying
CBS said about the Late Show cancellation in a news release sent to Newsweek: "This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.
"Stephen has taken CBS late night by storm with cutting-edge comedy, a must-watch monologue and interviews with leaders in entertainment, politics, news and newsmakers across all areas. The show has been No. 1 in late night for nine straight seasons; Stephen's comedy resonates daily across digital and social media; and the broadcast is a staple of the nation's zeitgeist.
"The accomplishments of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert are memorable and significant in performance, quality and stature. With much gratitude, we look forward to honoring Stephen and celebrating the show over the next 10 months alongside its millions of fans and viewers."
Stephen Colbert said about the cancellation of his show: "Before we start the show, I want to let you know something that I found out just last night. Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending The Late Show in May. … It's not just the end of our show, but it's the end of The Late Show on CBS. I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away, and I do want to say that the folks at CBS have been great partners. I'm so grateful to the Tiffany Network for giving me this chair and this beautiful theater to call home. And of course, I'm grateful to you, the audience, who have joined us every night."
President Donald Trump celebrated The Late Show's cancellation, writing on Truth Social: "I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert! Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show."
Jon Stewart, whose The Daily Show airs on Paramount's Comedy Central, said on Monday's episode: "I acknowledge late-night TV is a struggling financial model. … But when your industry is faced with changes, you don't just call it a day. My God! When CDs stopped selling, they didn't just go, 'Oh well, music, it's been a good run.' The fact that CBS didn't try to save their No. 1-rated network late-night franchise that's been on the air for over three decades is part of what's making everybody wonder, Was this purely financial or maybe the path of least resistance for your $8 billion merger?"
Jimmy Fallon addressed Colbert's exit on The Tonight Show: "Everybody is talking about CBS's decision to end The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and many people are now threatening to boycott the network. CBS could lose millions of viewers plus tens of hundreds watching on Paramount+. Stephen has done years of incredibly smart and hilarious television, and he's won 10 Emmys."
Last week, Jimmy Kimmel wrote in a now-expired Instagram Stories, per People: "Love you Stephen. F*** you and all your Sheldons CBS."
Senator Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California who was recently appeared on The Late Show, wrote on X: "Just finished taping with Stephen Colbert who announced his show was cancelled. If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better."
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, wrote on X: "CBS canceled Colbert's show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump—a deal that looks like bribery. America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons."
What Happens Next
The Paramount and Skydance merger is expected to close on or before October.
New episodes of South Park are scheduled to air on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on Comedy Central and be available to stream on Paramount+ the next day.
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