Latest news with #Sermononthe'Mount
Time of India
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Trump-themed parody episode of 'South Park' breaks record; weekly airing to resume soon
The recent Trump-themed installment of 'South Park,' which premiered on July 23, 2025, has shattered viewership records for the long-running animated series. Not only did the highly anticipated episode achieve the show's biggest premiere ratings since 1999, but it also became a massive talking point across social media platforms, dominating conversations and trending topics. This surge in popularity underscores the continued cultural relevance of 'South Park' and its ability to generate significant buzz with its timely and often controversial satire. Here's a closer look at it. 'South Park' breaks viewership record The most anticipated season 27's premiere gathered around 5.9 million viewers across all platforms, including on-air replays. The season saw a 68 per cent improvement since the previous season, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The episode, titled 'Sermon on the 'Mount,'' displayed Trump sharing the bed with Satan, getting threatened by the POTUS for USD 5 billion. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play this game for 1 minute and see why everyone is addicted. Undo However, the creators settled for around USD 3 million and promised to produce 'pro-Trump messaging' that includes a live-action deepfake at the end of the episode and a side agreement that the network will air public service announcements in line with the administration. A billion-dollar deal with the creators Recently, the creators of the show, Trey Parker and Matt Stone , extended their deal with Paramount Global for an additional 50 episodes, which is reportedly valued at USD 300 million a year for the next five years. The deal will also help the show get its entire library moved to Paramount Plus for the first time, and a linear release on Comedy Central. Amid the recent entertainment shows' struggle in the USA, the creators did not hesitate to strike the President, portraying him in a s**ual relationship with Satan. Weekly episodes of South Park to resume soon Following their exceptional premiere, 'South Park' took a week off and will resume their weekly episodes from August 6. The teaser of the upcoming episode has been released and contains bizarre visuals, including the 79-year-old Republican flirting with Satan. Moreover, on Tuesday, the social media handle for 'South Park' released a behind-the-scenes moment, where they were filming a bare Donald Trump for their premiere.
Atlantic
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Atlantic
Why South Park Struck a Nerve
Over the course of its nearly 30-year run, South Park has deployed toilet humor, ruthless political commentary, and profane asides to eviscerate wide swaths of people. No one is spared—celebrities, religious groups, foreign governments, and a variety of ethnicities have all been fair game. The series gained instant notoriety upon its 1997 debut thanks to this approach, and it hasn't let up since. But when South Park, which airs on Comedy Central,returned last week following an extensive hiatus, it was to a political moment that some satirists have found harder to work with. In the past, President Donald Trump's second term would have been an obvious target for South Park, low-hanging fruit to tackle in a flashy, long-awaited premiere; the show has mocked the surreality of contemporary politics before. (A 2016 episode depicts a local elementary-school teacher, Mr. Garrison, triumphing in an election over Hillary Clinton; he soon adopts a Trump-style blond comb-over.) Yet in a Vanity Fair interview last year, the show's co-creator Matt Stone said that reflecting previous presidential elections had been a 'mind scramble' for him and his co-creator, Trey Parker, and they didn't care to tackle the specter of the 2024 campaign in South Park 's then-forthcoming season. 'I don't know what more we could possibly say about Trump,' Parker said. Parker and Stone's solution to the quandary of Trump-era satire, it seems, is to use the president as something of a Trojan horse for mocking another subject entirely—and a way to dramatically up the stakes while doing so. Trump is not a bull's-eye in the episode, titled 'Sermon on the 'Mount,' despite numerous shocking jokes that might suggest as much: an AI-generated video of Trump's genitalia addressing the camera, and a recurring gag involving the president cozying up in bed with a grumpy Satan, prodding the devil into coitus. Rather, he is a high-profile conduit for the show's true target: Paramount, Comedy Central's parent company. Paramount's investment in South Park is clear: The same week that the outrageous premiere aired, the company paid Parker and Stone a reported $1.5 billion for 50 new episodes and the streaming rights to the show. But the expensive deal also came days after Paramount canceled the popular Late Show With Stephen Colbert for what the company claimed were financial reasons. The timing fueled speculation about the company's motivations; two weeks prior, Paramount had agreed to settle a lawsuit with Trump for $16 million over the editing of a 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris last fall. As some reports have pointed out, both the settlement and the Late Show cancellation—which Colbert referred to on air as 'a big fat bribe'—came amid Paramount's bid for federal approval of its merger with the media company Skydance. These details fueled 'Sermon on the 'Mount,' which in a dense 22 minutes mashes up industry-focused satire with jokes about people's growing trust of AI and the cultural decline of 'woke' terminology. South Park reimagines the Paramount events as a community issue; in the episode, Trump sues the titular town for $5 billion, after local parents disagree with his administration's bringing religion into schools. While publicly protesting, the townspeople are joined by Jesus himself, who reveals through clenched teeth that even he's embroiled in a lawsuit against Trump. He urges them to hold their complaints, lest they face serious consequences: 'You really wanna end up like Colbert?' he hisses. The scene is a thinly veiled, relentless prodding at Paramount's allegiances, as well as the chilling effect Trump's actions have created. This approach stretches across the bulk of the episode. Further twisting the knife is a parody of 60 Minutes that portrays its journalists as constantly hedging to avoid displeasing the president: The segment opens with a ticking bomb, in lieu of a clock, as a voice-over shakily announces, 'This is 60 Minutes. Oh, boy. Oh, shit.' An anchor then nervously introduces a report of South Park's protest against the president, who, he is quick to add, 'is a great man; we know he's probably watching.' South Park isn't breaking new ground in criticizing its parent company. The sitcom 30 Rock featured frequent jokes-slash-metacommentary about NBC throughout its seven seasons, including about the network's own late-night-host drama; The Simpsons has ridiculed Fox constantly over the years. Even Barbie, for all its pink-colored wholesomeness, embedded jabs about Mattel; the movie's creative team publicly spoke of their successful bid to get certain gags into the box-office-dominating film, and a Mattel executive later heralded the jokes at the company's expense. But what feels, frankly, so punk rock about Parker and Stone's approach is how big of a swing they took in biting the billionaire hands that are feeding them. By making Trump a vehicle for addressing the close-to-home Paramount drama, South Park 's creators did something canny: They transformed a politically layered scenario—one involving the show's parent company and America's leadership at the highest level—into a storyline that was both pointed and accessible to a wide audience. Instead of focusing on entertainment-industry satire, Parker and Stone feature Trump heavily—and, in a first, use his actual face over a tiny animated body. The bluntly provocative characterization, which went viral, helped the episode reach some viewers that otherwise may not have been as attuned to Paramount's recent decisions. As such, Parker and Stone managed to attract attention from audiences across party lines. Those who were ticked off by the president and delighted in his portrayal cheered the episode, while the White House issued a statement writing off the show as a 'desperate attempt for attention.' In an ironic twist, the town of South Park follows in Paramount's footsteps toward the episode's end. Jesus persuades the town's parents to settle with Trump, warning that 'if someone has the power of the presidency and also has the power to sue and take bribes, then he can do anything to anyone.' The townspeople's attorney then talks Trump down from $5 billion to $3.5 million—'That's not so bad!' coos one parent. The mayor concurs: 'We'll just have to cut some funding for our schools and hospitals and roads, and that should be that!' In so closely linking Paramount's actions with Trump's bullying tactics, the episode manages to not just poke at the network's decision to settle in lieu of defending its properties in court. It also suggests that there's still potent satire to be wrung from the contemporary political maelstrom—and that South Park is willing to push the buttons of more than one powerful institution while doing so.
Hindustan Times
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
South Park Season 27 Trump episode breaks show's 1999 record
Popular animated sitcom South Park has set a major viewership record with its much-anticipated Season 27 premiere. Targeted at Donald Trump, the first episode of the show broke a record, which was set in 1999, Dexerto reported. On Wednesday, Paramount announced that the Season 27 premiere of South Park witnessed 5.9 million viewers across the Comedy Central cable channel as well as the Paramount+ streaming service in the first three days of its availability (July 24-26). South Park season 27 premiere(Instagram/southpark) South Park Season 27 sets new records The episode, titled Sermon on the 'Mount', marked the biggest linear premiere for the animated series since 1999, besides emerging as the "best season premiere rating since 2022," the network stated. Creators of the series, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, targeted Donald Trump and his attacks on Comedy Central parent company Paramount Global in the latest episode of the show. It portrayed Trump in a similar manner it showed Saddam Hussein, which included putting the US President in a sexual relationship with Satan. Soon after, the show was heavily criticized by the White House, which said that South Park has not been "relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention.' Also read: Did South Park get canceled after Trump episode? Paramount drops new teaser amid rumors South Park saw a 0.996 rating in the key adults 18-49 demographic, marking its highest demo rating since 2022. Also, this was a 15% jump over its last season's debut. On IMDb, the episode has been given 9.6 stars out of 10, which is significantly higher than the 7.3 stars of the first episode of Season 26. This comes as Parker and Stone have already extended a deal with Paramount Global to as many as 50 new episodes of South Park. As per Variety, this extension is said to be valued at $300 million a year over the next five years. Further, this deal allows the entire South Park library to be moved to Paramount+ for the first time. Comedy Central on Wednesday highlighted that the Season 27 premiere of South Park last week was the 'most social episode' of the animated series ever, besides being the 'most social program across all TV' on that day. After a record start, South Park is now gearing up for its Episode 2, which has been delayed due to the show's fast turnaround nature. It is now scheduled to come out on August 6. FAQs: Where to watch South Park Season 27? The show airs on Comedy Central and Paramount+. When will Episode 2 of South Park Season 27 come out? It will air on August 6. Will South Park target Donald Trump again? Yes. A trailer for Episode 2 of South Park Season 27 shows the return of the US President and Satan.
USA Today
a day ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
'South Park' isn't done mocking Trump: Trailer for next episode skewers president again
"South Park" isn't finished with President Donald Trump. The Comedy Central show has dropped a trailer for its next episode, which suggests the series will continue mocking Trump after making waves for going after him in its Season 27 premiere. The 20-second trailer includes a shot of Trump attending a dinner, where he is sitting at a table with Satan. As a speaker is heard talking about honoring Trump's courage, the president rubs Satan's leg under the table, and Satan tells him to stop. It's unclear whether this scene will appear in the next episode, airing Aug. 6, or whether it was created solely for the trailer. "South Park" is notorious for not having episodes finished until soon before they air, and during a Comic-Con panel last week, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone acknowledged they created scenes just to use in a trailer for Season 27. But the trailer at least implies that Trump and his relationship with Satan will be a continuing storyline throughout the season, rather than a one-off plot. In its Season 27 premiere, which aired on July 23, "South Park" skewered Trump and showed him literally getting into bed with Satan. He was animated using real photos of the president placed on an animated body, a parody almost identical to the way the show's 1999 movie depicted Saddam Hussein. The White House fired back at the episode, with spokesperson Taylor Rogers saying in a statement to USA TODAY that "South Park" "hasn't been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention." One of the main plot lines in the season premiere, titled "Sermon on the 'Mount," was Trump suing the town of South Park. By the end of the episode, the town agrees to do pro-Trump messaging as part of a settlement. The show then cut to a faux public service announcement showing a live-action depiction of Trump taking off his clothes and crawling through a desert. The video was introduced with an on-screen graphic that said "PRO-TRUMP PSA 01 OF 50," suggesting there could be more to come in future episodes. In an appearance at San Diego Comic-Con last week, Parker and Stone sarcastically apologized for the episode. "We're terribly sorry," Parker jokingly said. During their July 24 Comic-Con panel, Parker and Stone also acknowledged that they didn't yet know what would happen in the next "South Park" episode, given how quickly episodes come together. "I don't know what the episode is next week," Parker said. "It's super stressful." Contributing: Brian Truitt
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Donald Trump South Park Painting Appears in California
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Art of Donald Trump's portrayal in the latest season of South Park has appeared on the streets of California. The images of the mural were captured in Los Angeles a week after Trump was depicted as lying in bed with the devil, sparking a swift response from the White House. Newsweek contacted the White House for comment on the situation via email. The Context South Park returned for its 27th season after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus with an episode that satirized President Trump in a series of provocative scenarios, including lying in bed with Satan and arguing with the Canadian prime minister. The episode, titled "Sermon on the 'Mount,'" also referenced the so-called "Epstein list"—an alleged list of clients involved in Jeffrey Epstein's crimes. The Department of Justice and FBI have said that no "incriminating client list" exists. What To Know The art was captured on Sunday, when passersby noticed that images of Trump and Satan in bed together had appeared on the sidewalk in Los Angeles. South Park's show about Trump is showing up in graffiti. Los Angeles, California. — Molly Ploofkins (@Mollyploofkins) July 27, 2025 The art appears to be from muralist Rod Benson, who posted the mural to his Instagram on Saturday, where it quickly amassed over 10,000 likes. The episode aired one day after the Federal Communications Commission approved a major Paramount Global-Skydance Media merger and just weeks after Paramount settled a $16 million lawsuit from President Trump related to a CBS interview with Kamala Harris. So far, President Trump has not personally commented on the episode, but the White House issued a robust response on his behalf. The new episode of 'South Park' shows Donald Trump in bed with Satan. The new episode of 'South Park' shows Donald Trump in bed with Satan. Comedy Central Shortly after the episode aired, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told the Rolling Stone on July 24: "The Left's hypocrisy truly has no end—for years they have come after South Park for what they labeled as 'offensive' content, but suddenly they are praising the show. "Just like the creators of South Park, the Left has no authentic or original content, which is why their popularity continues to hit record lows. This show hasn't been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention. President Trump has delivered on more promises in just six months than any other president in our country's history—and no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump's hot streak." What People Are Saying In response to the statement, South Park co-creator Trey Parker, during a panel at Comic-Con International in San Diego, offered a mock-serious reaction: "We're terribly sorry," he said when asked about the Trump administration's reaction to the episode . Parker explained that their decision not to blur certain content in the episode was intentional and in keeping with the show's satirical style. David S. Korzenik, a veteran media lawyer, told Newsweek: "There's no real possibility of any credible legal peril ... Any lawsuit against South Park for this would be ridiculous." Marjorie Heins, a First Amendment lawyer and author, told Newsweek: "The South Park show is obviously satire, not an assertion of fact, so under the law as it now stands, the satire is fully protected by the First Amendment." What Happens Next Paramount and the South Park creators are expected to continue producing new episodes as part of their long-term deal, despite the White House criticism.
