'South Park' S27 premiere breaks viewership records amid Trump episode
What's the story
The popular animated series South Park has been making headlines lately for its Season 27 premiere episode, which took a jab at US President Donald Trump. The episode, titled Sermon on the 'Mount, reportedly attracted nearly six million viewers across Comedy Central and Paramount+, according to the company and Nielsen. This marks the biggest season premiere share on the cable network since 1999!
Viewership increase
Huge spike in viewership
The Season 27 premiere of South Park saw a staggering 68% increase in viewership compared to the previous season. The episode scored a Nielsen rating of 9.2, significantly higher than the 5.48 rating for the Season 26 premiere. It also recorded nearly one million viewers (9,96,000) compared to last year's 8,66,000 and was the top-rated telecast across all cable networks last Wednesday!
Controversial themes
Controversial episode drew ire from Trump supporters, White House
The episode's controversial content, which included Trump lamenting about the size of his manhood in an official painting and attempting to seduce Satan, drew mixed reactions. The White House even issued a statement criticizing the show as "hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention." Despite this, the episode's viewership numbers indicate that it successfully generated significant interest among audiences.
Future plans
Parker, Stone sign new $1.5B deal with Paramount Global
Despite the controversy, Trey Parker and Matt Stone recently signed a new five-year overall deal with Paramount Global. The deal also includes a five-year streaming license agreement reportedly worth around $1.5 billion. This comes amid increasing interest from streamers like HBO Max to acquire the streaming rights for the 300-plus episodes of South Park. Meanwhile, fans can catch a rerun of the Season 27 premiere tonight!