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 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.
