According to CNN, the 27th season premiere of South Park received the most views at over 5.9 million on Comedy Central and Paramount+. Paramount stated it was the series’s “best season premiere rating since 2022.” The show also garnered its biggest cable audience for a premiere episode since 1999.

South Park is known for being an equal-opportunity offender, taking shots at everyone, including President Trump in their most recent episode. The premiere episode, entitled “Sermon on the Mount,” ridiculed Trump for the size of his manhood and had Satan reject his advances in the bedroom. mxwdn reported that a White House official stated Trump was “seething over the childish attack by South Park.” Another statement took shots at the show itself, saying, “…this show hasn’t been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention.”

According to CNN, the satirical commentary is hitting closer to home because of the FCC’s recent involvement with Comedy Central’s parent company, Paramount. As Paramount sought the FCC’s approval of their now-confirmed merger with Skydance, they also recently settled a dispute between Trump and CBS News. Trump’s complaint of alleged bias in election coverage from 60 Minutes secured $16 million from the news studio as well as a two-year ombudsman. The FCC made it clear that this settlement was independent of the merger approval. 

Separate from the mess at CBS News, Paramount recently announced the cancellation of The Late Show, currently hosted by Stephen Colbert (The Daily Show, The Colbert Report), after the 2025 season. Colbert has been openly critical of Trump, with many fans and stars alike thinking the network was pressured to silence the host. However, Paramount stated that the decision to cancel the late-night staple was solely financial. 

According to CNN, Trump boasted about the cancellation, posting in a series of posts on Truth Social, “Show biz and television is a very simple business. If you get ratings, you can say or do anything. If you don’t, you always become a victim.”