South Park Viewership Rises 68% with Season 27 Premiere
According to Cinemadrame News Agency, The twenty-seventh season of the animated series South Park drew a huge audience with its premiere episode, which targeted Donald Trump. The episode, broadcast on Comedy Central and Paramount+, attracted nearly 6 million viewers across all platforms, making it the most-watched episode on Comedy Central’s cable network since 1999.
According to Nielsen, the season opener marked a 68% increase in viewership compared to last season. With 1 million viewers tuning in on Wednesday night, it became the highest-rated season premiere on cable among all shows in the past three years.
The controversial episode depicted Trump in bed with “the Devil,” with a childlike physique. In a fictionalized version of the White House, several paintings were shown satirizing Trump’s policies and administration.
The episode’s release coincided with a dispute—and eventual $16 million settlement—between Paramount Global and Trump. Trump had accused CBS’s “60 Minutes,” a Paramount subsidiary, of interfering in the election. Paramount, seeking Trump’s approval for a merger with Skydance Media, agreed to pay $16 million to settle the matter. Meanwhile, “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert called the settlement a “big, fat bribe” and was dismissed a few days later.
The teaser for episode two, released this week, revealed that the South Park writers will continue to satirize Trump, depicting him in further sexual situations with the Devil.
Last week, Trey Parker and Matt Stone signed a $1.5 billion, five-year deal with Paramount Global to keep South Park streaming on Paramount+ through 2027.
