'South Park' creators rip Skydance-Paramount merger as a 's---show', blame deal for delaying new season
In a statement shared to X on Tuesday, show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone expressed frustration over their show's premiere getting delayed another two weeks and blamed the potential upcoming merger between Paramount Global and Skydance as the reason for it.
"This merger is a s---show and it's f---ing up South Park," the creators declared. "We are at the studio working on new episodes and we hope the fans get to see them somehow."
The official "South Park" X account confirmed news of the delay early Tuesday morning, posting, "South Park's 27th season premiere has moved to Wednesday, July 23rd at 10:00pm ET/PT on Comedy Central." Season 27 marks the return of the show after a two-year hiatus.
Comedy Central has not yet given a reason for the delay.
The merger that Stone and Parker pointed to is set to happen by July 6, Deadline.com reported Tuesday, with Skydance to acquire control of Paramount Global and merge both companies.
With the merger, Skydance Media boss Jeff Shell is set to become the boss of the soon-to-be-joined companies. Shell has been accused by the "South Park" creators of meddling in their current contract negotiations with Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), The Hollywood Reporter (THR) said.
Streaming rights for "South Park" are believed to be non-exclusive and have been shopped around to other platforms, like Netflix or Warner Bros. Discovery's HBO Max, Deadline noted.
Parker and Stone's entertainment company, Park County, threatened legal action against Shell's companies, Redbird and Skydance, accusing them of directing Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery to alter terms of their offers for streaming deals with "South Park" that would benefit Paramount following the merger.
According to them, Shell has sought to exert pressure on these platforms and their prospective deals with the show to ensure that Paramount+ gets to stream the show's new season exclusively for a certain time, at the expense of Park County.
Parker and Stone accused Shell of "urging WBD to give Paramount+ an exclusive 12-month window for new episodes of the show and to shorten the term of the deal from 10 to five years, which could worsen the studio's bid for the series," THR reported, describing a letter sent on behalf of Park County.
"We hereby demand that you, Redbird, and Skydance immediately cease your interference," the letter states. "If these activities continue, we will have no choice but to act to both protect our rights and discharge any obligations we may have to the public."
Paramount and the "South Park" creators did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.
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