‘South Park’s’ Raunchy Season Premiere Earns Huge Ratings

The season 27 premiere of South Park attracted significant viewership, drawing 5.9 million viewers across Comedy Central and Paramount+. That’s the best season premiere rating since 2022 for the show, and its biggest share of the cable audience for a season premiere episode since 1999. The controversy around the episode’s ruthless and profane depiction President Trump likely drove the additional streaming viewership during the three-day period reported by Paramount. Notably, Paramount recently agreed to pay $16 million to resolve Trump’s legally dubious lawsuit against CBS News, with FCC officials blessing Paramount’s pending merger with Skydance Media shortly after the settlement. South Park’s creators have since called out its parent company for both the lawsuit settlement and the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which Trump has celebrated. (CNN)