The hit animated series "South Park," which is back for its 27th season, wasted no time making fun of President Donald Trump and the ongoing legal saga between the president and Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) (NASDAQ:PARAA) that owns the rights to the show.
A new restructuring of Paramount management could result in executives keeping a closer watch on the series after upsetting Trump in the first episode of the new season.
What Happened: Paramount completed a merger with Skydance Media, a deal that was signed off on after much delay by the Trump administration.
A past lawsuit by Trump against Paramount over its "60 Minutes" segment proved controversial, as did the recent firing of Stephen Colbert and cancellation of the "Late Show with Stephen Colbert" scheduled for May 2026.
Paramount has restructured its management teams following the merger. Many of the scripted production operations for series will fall under the Paramount TV Studios division, led by Dana Goldberg, reported Deadline.
One of the exceptions is "South Park," which will become part of the items managed by George Cheeks, chairman of TV Media.
Cheeks will oversee "South Park," along with items from CBS Network, CBS News & Stations, CBS Sports, CBS Studios, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV and BET Studios.
Under the new management structure, Goldberg will oversee the production of most shows catered to the company's streaming segment. At the same time, Cheeks will handle the majority of shows primarily for linear networks owned by Paramount.
Read Also: Donald Trump Jokes On ‘South Park’ Help Lift Viewership By 68%
Why It's Important: Cheeks will be in charge of "South Park," oversee the final episodes of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," and oversee "The Daily Show." All three of these shows are known for making fun of Trump.
Cheeks was also in charge of the unit that decided to cancel Colbert's show. Paramount cited the cancellation as a financial decision, but it occurred around the time that Colbert said Paramount was paying bribes by settling with Trump. The president, who has often been critical of Colbert in the past, praised the move by Paramount.
"South Park" was recently renewed under a five-year, $1.5 billion deal that grants Paramount new episodes for Comedy Central, as well as streaming rights for Paramount+ for both new and old episodes.
The animated series, known to make fun of Trump and other politicians, sometimes crosses the line.
The question for fans and showrunners Matt Stone and Trey Parker is what role Cheeks will play in making sure the show doesn't upset the president or push the boundaries too far.
So far, no executives have been able to stop the show when it comes to its unique form of comedy, even in the recent episode that made fun of the president's male anatomy.
Cheeks is in a challenging position as he’s leading a show he helped cancel and two shows the White House would most likely love to see disappear, including one that Paramount just paid more than $1 billion to keep the show's founders happy.
PARA Price Action: Paramount stock is down 5.4% to $11.64 on Tuesday versus a 52-week trading range of $9.95 to $13.59. Paramount stock is up 10.1% year-to-date in 2025.
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