‘South Park’ Creators Reveal Network Battle Over Premiere’s Trump Penis as They Joke: “We’re Terribly Sorry”

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At San Diego Comic-Con, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone of the popular animated show “South Park” had some interesting insights to share after a period with many news headlines regarding their series on Comedy Central.

On Thursday, Parker and Stone participated in a panel discussion alongside Mike Judge (creator of Beavis and Butt-Head) and Andy Samberg (co-creator of Digman!), all discussing the network’s adult animation programming. At the outset of the panel, moderator Josh Horowitz brought up the elephant in the room by asking the South Park creators if they had noticed the commotion surrounding the season 27 premiere that aired the previous day, which portrayed an unflattering image of President Donald Trump.

Parker gave a brief, humorous reply, saying seriously, “We’re extremely regretful.” His response was short, but he promised there would be more information about the incident soon.

The creators of South Park made a more explicit link to Trump when asked about their initial connection years ago. Stone explained, “For me and Trey, we bonded over Monty Python.” In today’s context, where PBS funding is being reduced, he stated that this was how he discovered Monty Python. This comment, delivered at a time when Trump has signed a bill reducing federal funding for public broadcasting, received applause from the audience.

Parker shared that the creative process for the show’s team remains just as exciting as it was initially. “This morning, we were brainstorming over at South Park,” he confessed, “trying to decide what our next episode will be.

Even though the team just finalized the story for this week’s season 27 premiere of the show as recently as three days ago, Parker admitted they had their doubts. “We were wondering if people would like it,” he said. But, as they read through news headlines, they decided to incorporate that into the episode, with Parker and Stone saying, “Let’s include that in there.

During our ongoing chat, the topic shifted towards directives from above regarding Season 27’s premiere. Horowitz inquired if there were any apprehensions, and Parker brought up an episode that had caused quite a stir – one featuring a glimpse of Trump’s private parts. He shared the network executives’ feedback: “They suggested they’d blur it, but we flat-out said, ‘No, you’re not going to blur it.'” Stone then chimed in about the show’s creative decision, explaining, “We agreed to give it a pair of eyes, transforming it into a character.

Regarding the origins of Beavis and Butt-Head, Judge reminisced about mimicking a schoolmate who was smitten with an attractive teacher. “I began imitating him discreetly in class,” Judge explained, “and it quickly became popular. I was just trying to sketch him, but it transformed into something different.” He later commented on his old friend, “He’s now a nuclear engineer, so he’s nothing like Beavis.

Samberg reminisced about his Lonely Island sketches on Saturday Night Live as some of the earliest viral YouTube videos, notably “Lazy Sunday” from 2006. As he put it, SNL often recycled the same characters due to a lack of rewatchability. However, YouTube, which people discovered the day after the Chronicles of Narnia movie, provided us with excellent timing.

Samberg spoke about how his Lonely Island sketches on SNL were among the first popular YouTube videos, like “Lazy Sunday” from 2006. He explained that SNL used to repeat characters a lot because there wasn’t an easy way to rewatch episodes. But then came YouTube, which people learned about after the Chronicles of Narnia movie, and we happened to time our content perfectly with it.

The judge found amusing the SNL’s 2024 viral sketch reminiscent of Beavis and Butt-Head, featuring Ryan Gosling and Mikey Day. “That was quite entertaining,” the judge commented, “it made me chuckle.

When the panelists were questioned about being identified by fans in public settings, Stone jokingly commented that his admirers are predominantly male: “Now that I’m older, it’s not so thrilling to be recognized only by men.

Previously, Parker and Stone were locked in a stressful disagreement with Paramount and subsequent owners Skydance over the streaming rights of their show. On Wednesday, however, Paramount revealed a fresh five-year contract with Parker and Stone’s production company, Park County, worth an estimated $1.5 billion. This deal will make South Park accessible on Paramount+ in the U.S. for the first time, and the show will be producing 10 episodes annually.

According to The Hollywood Reporter’s earlier report, Park County had been preparing to seal a 10-year, $3 billion agreement with Paramount. However, Skydance expressed reservations about approving such a long-term deal due to doubts about the stability of the streaming market. As a result, creators Parker and Stone sought legal assistance from renowned attorney Bryan Freedman to help mediate negotiations during this disagreement.

This merger is a mess and it’s causing problems for South Park. We’re in the studio working on fresh episodes, hoping they’ll make it to our fans somehow.

The Season 27 premiere of ‘South Park’ aired on Wednesday on Comedy Central, and it features Trump in a cartoon form. A scene shows him lying naked in bed with Satan, who brings up the rumors about his name being linked to documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. The episode also touches upon CBS’ decision to cancel ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’, leading to speculation that it was politically motivated before the Paramount merger. This mirrors the ongoing debate about Paramount’s settlement with Trump regarding their news program, ’60 Minutes’. In this season premiere, a depiction of Jesus Christ cautions South Park residents about taking Trump seriously.

In an earlier statement on Thursday, White House Assistant Press Secretary Taylor Rogers commented that the show in question has lost its relevance more than two decades ago and now barely survives with outdated concepts, striving feebly for recognition.

On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission gave its green light to David Ellison’s Skydance for their $8 billion takeover of Paramount Global. With the FCC’s nod, Skydance is now set to finalize its acquisition of Paramount, which will see Ellison assuming control over the company that owns Comedy Central, CBS, and other media assets.

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2025-07-25 05:54