South Park Season 27 Premiere Draws 5.9 Million Viewers, Highest Since 1999

The Season 27 premiere of Comedy Central's South Park, titled "Sermon on the ‘Mount," garnered 5.9 million viewers across Comedy Central and Paramount+, marking the show's biggest premiere since 1999. The episode sharply satirizes President Donald Trump, portraying him in a controversial manner including a sexual relationship with Satan and a parody PSA featuring a nude Trump, which sparked a critical response from the White House calling the show irrelevant and desperate for attention. The premiere achieved a 68% increase in the 18-49 demographic share compared to the previous season and was the number one telecast across all cable on its debut night. The episode's viral success was amplified by extensive social media engagement, trending #1 on X for several hours and becoming the most talked-about TV show on its premiere night. Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone publicly criticized the Paramount-Skydance merger as negatively impacting the show and recently signed a $300 million deal extension with Paramount Global for 50 additional episodes. The South Park library has moved exclusively to Paramount+, where new episodes stream after their linear debut on Comedy Central.