South Park is never too far from controversies. The popular animated show for adults has been on for two decades. But, its contract with longtime partner, Paramount, is ending in 2027. As the two parties negotiate a deal to extend that contract, South Park’s creators have now accused Skydance, the would-be buyers of Paramount, of interfering with negotiations that could net them billions of dollars.
South Park’s tiff with Skydance
Reports in February stated that Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of South Park, approached Paramount in February, telling the company they want to keep making the series for many more years and extend a production deal that expires in 2027. The parties were already in talks to find a new streaming home for the series in a deal worth as much as $2.5 billion. HBO Max, which held the rights, was interested. So were several other companies, including Netflix, according to a Bloomberg report.
However, it seems that Skydance Media, the company trying to buy Paramount, has ideas of its own. Reports state that the company contacted HBO parent Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. and Netflix, relaying its own wishes on contract terms and deadlines. That triggered an angry rebuke from the creators of South Park and the threat of legal action, according to a letter reviewed by Bloomberg News.
“It has come to our attention that in recent days you contacted both Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery to interfere in the process,” Parker and Stone’s lawyer said in the letter to RedBird Capital Partners, an adviser to Skydance and investor in the Paramount deal.
Paramount had planned to split the US streaming rights to South Park between HBO Max and its own service, Paramount. The HBO deal alone would have been worth more than $1 billion over 10 years, according to people with knowledge of the matter, while Paramount would have paid a similar fee for its deal. The agreement with HBO Max was contingent on Parker and Stone agreeing to make dozens of new episodes.
Skydance, led by Chief Executive Officer David Ellison, said it’s just trying to bring financial discipline to Paramount, whose owners agreed to a sale after years of watching their investment tumble in value. “Under the terms of the transaction agreement, Skydance has the right to approve material contracts,” the company said in a statement.
The dispute over South Park damaged the relationship between Paramount’s future owner and one of the company’s most valuable creative teams before the deal closed. It is also high-profile evidence that President Donald Trump’s delay of the Paramount-Skydance deal has wreaked havoc on both companies.
About South Park
South Park, which began 28 years ago, is one of the most popular American shows on streaming. With over 300 episodes, it is also one of the most-watched American animated shows ever. Created by Parker and Stone, classmates at the University of Colorado at Boulder, South Park was an immediate sensation when it debuted in 1997. The show drew an audience to the young cable network Comedy Central and, within a few years, inspired a hit movie and popular video game.
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
