ViacomCBS inks $900m ‘South Park’ deal to stock Paramount+

South Park

ViacomCBS has signed a $900m deal with South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone for six more seasons and 14 made-for-streaming movies of the adult animation.

The agreement will keep the long-running scripted comedy show on the company’s Comedy Central channel through to its 30^th season in 2027, while 14 South Park movies are headed to streaming service Paramount+ – with two of them due to debut later this year.

Launching on Comedy Central in August 1997, and now approaching its 25^th anniversary, South Park follows the misadventures of a group of foul-mouthed school children, their families and the various eccentric residents of the titular US town.

The series has often been at the centre of both critical acclaim and condemnation for its use of strong language, dark themes, and crude and absurdist humour that satirises many aspects of modern life.

More than 300 episodes have aired since the show’s debut, as well as one theatrical spin-off, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, in 1999.

“Matt and Trey are world-class creatives who brilliantly use their outrageous humour to skewer the absurdities of our culture and we are excited to expand and deepen our long relationship with them to help fuel Paramount+ and Comedy Central,” said Chris McCarthy, President/CEO of MTV Entertainment & CCO/Adult Animation for Paramount+.

“Franchising marquee content like South Park and developing new IP with tremendous talent like Matt and Trey, is at the heart of our strategy to continue growing Paramount+.”

“Comedy Central has been our home for 25 years and we’re really happy that they’ve made a commitment to us for the next 75 years,” joked Parker and Stone.

“When we came to ViacomCBS with a different way to produce the show during the pandemic, Chris (McCarthy), Nina (Diaz), Keyes (Hill-Edgar) and Tanya (Giles) were immediately supportive and enabled us to try something new that turned out to be really well received.

“We can’t wait to get back to doing traditional South Park episodes but now we can also try out new formats. It’s great to have partners who will always take a chance with us.”