South Park was pulled off Paramount+ last week outside the US, and fans are not happy. Actually, that might be an understatement – they are furious. From threatening to cancel their subscriptions to considering "setting Paramount on fire", international fans of the iconic show are demanding an explanation.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, the reason why South Park was removed from the streamer comes from an ongoing licensing dispute between the show's creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and Paramount Global, which is Comedy Central's parent company, amidst an ongoing Paramount-Skydance merger review.
This couldn't arrive at a worse time, as season 27 is set to premiere July 23 on Comedy Central. Fans have been waiting for two years for new episodes, so they are now eager to find out how they are going to be able to watch them outside of the US.
"wtf. 100 % cancelling my subscription now," noted user @emale27 (via THR), while @jaywinner echoed a lot of fans' opinions in saying: "The only reason I had Paramount+ was to watch South Park. I just canceled." Some users like @Acceptable-Bid-1019 even call (jokingly, of course) for violence ("How does one go about setting Paramount on fire?"), while @probably420stoned just states that "They've basically just done this themselves."
Other global fans are already helping each other in order to find ways to watch the show, from back episodes that are available for purchase on services like Apple TV and Amazon Prime, to some other not-so-legal options.
Is there hope for an end to the dispute? What we know is that Parker and Stone have threatened legal action against Paramount, accusing incoming president Jeff Shell, currently chairman of sports and media at Skydance investor Redbird Capital Partners, of interfering with their contract negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Netflix. They think Shell wanted "to benefit Paramount at the expense" of the creators' business entity, Park County.
"This merger is a sh*tshow and is f*cking up South Park. We are at the studio working on new episodes and we hope the fans get to see them somehow," they wrote on X earlier this month.
A representative for Skydance dismissed the allegations in an official statement: "Any accusation that Jeff Shell tried to lower the price or devalue the franchise in any way is not only nonsensical but patently false. Under the terms of the transaction agreement, Skydance has the right to approve material contracts," the statement reads.
South Park season 27 is set to hit Comedy Central on July 23. For more, see our list of the best new TV shows coming your way in 2025 and beyond, and check out our list for the best South Parks episodes of all time.
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