'South Park' fans lash out after Paramount Plus removes show outside the US ahead of season 27

Highlights:

• South Park pulled from Paramount+ globally after licence expiry
• Fans in UK, Canada, Australia, and Europe react with outrage
• Dispute linked to £6.3 billion (₹673 billion) Paramount-Skydance merger and ongoing contract standoff
• Season 27 premieres 23 July on Comedy Central in the US, leaving global fans stranded

Fans around the world are up in arms after South Park disappeared from Paramount+ outside the US. With just days to go until the season 27 premiere, international viewers are calling out Paramount Global for yanking the show due to a lapsed streaming deal and are threatening to cancel subscriptions over what they see as corporate mishandling.

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Paramount+ drops South Park amid licensing fallout

Viewers from the UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, and Latin America were left stunned last week when South Park vanished from Paramount+ in their regions. The move follows the expiration of an international streaming licence and ongoing tension between the show’s creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and Paramount Global, which owns Comedy Central.

The timing couldn’t be worse: after a two-year wait, season 27 is set to debut on Comedy Central in the US on 23 July. But thanks to the unresolved deal, international fans are now scrambling to figure out how they’ll be able to watch the new episodes.

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Fans rage online, cancel subscriptions

The backlash has been swift and loud. On Reddit and X, long-time viewers expressed frustration, many vowing to quit Paramount+ altogether.

"The only reason I had Paramount+ was to watch South Park. I just cancelled,” wrote one user. Another fumed, “How does one go about setting Paramount on fire?”, a comment met with dark humour by others who blamed the platform for “setting itself on fire.”

Some users began sharing ways to legally access older episodes via platforms like Apple TV and Amazon Prime, while others admitted they were considering alternative, less official methods.

Parker and Stone threaten legal action

Behind the scenes, the show’s creators are fighting their own battle. Trey Parker and Matt Stone, through their company Park County, have accused Skydance’s incoming president Jeff Shell of meddling in licensing talks. Their allegations claim Shell tried to skew negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery and Netflix to favour Paramount’s streaming ambitions.

They argue this interference ultimately led to the shortened contract term and the fallout with HBO Max, leaving the show without a cohesive global distribution strategy just as a new season approaches.

  Global outrage grows as South Park vanishes from Paramount PlusWikipedia

What’s available—and what’s not

While South Park episodes remain available on Comedy Central’s traditional TV networks in several international markets, streaming access is now patchy. Some specials are still on Paramount+, and ad-supported options exist via Pluto TV in select regions like Canada and Europe.

Back episodes can be purchased on services like Amazon Prime and Apple TV, and in countries like Germany and across Latin America, some content is accessible through a standalone South Park website. But for many fans, none of this replaces the convenience of a centralised platform like Paramount+.

  Fans slam Paramount and Skydance for blocking South Park accessRotten Tomatoes

Season 27 still coming—but not for everyone

Despite the chaos, South Park season 27 will premiere in the US as planned on 23 July on Comedy Central. But for fans outside the country, there’s still no confirmed way to watch the new season legally on demand.

Some fans are already hoping this real-life drama makes its way into a future episode. As one Reddit user joked, “The silver lining of all this merger crap is that it’s gonna make for an excellent South Park takedown.”