South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone sign $1.2 billion movie deal
The creators of South Park will release 14 new movies over the next six years as part of a deal dubbed one of the most expensive of all time.
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The co-creators of South Park have signed a whopping deal with ViacomCBS that will keep the comedy series going through to 2027, and see 14 original movies by Trey Parker and Matt Stone released by the company.
It’s reported to be one of the most expensive deals ever, with multiple sources stating they were offered $A1.2 billion ($US900 million) for the commitment.
According to the announcement, two of the original South Park films will premiere on Paramount+ in 2021, with two a year planned through to 2027. It will also see the series renewed through to season 30.
It’s a move that may confuse some fans given the entire South Park library is available on HBO Max.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the deal appears to be a way to get the series’ programming on ViacomCBS’ own streaming service, which is Paramount+.
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MTV Entertainment president and Paramount+ chief communications officer Chris McCarthy said the move was “at the heart” of the parent company’s growth strategy.
“Matt and Trey are world-class creatives who brilliantly use their outrageous humour to skewer the absurdities of our culture and we are excited to expand and deepen our long relationship with them to help fuel Paramount+ and Comedy Central,” Mr McCarthy said.
“Franchising marquee content like South Park and developing new IP with tremendous talent like Matt and Trey, is at the heart of our strategy to continue growing Paramount+.”
In their own statement about the news, creators Parker and Stone said they were “really happy” to pen the deal, thanking ViacomCBS for its continued support.
“Comedy Central has been our home for 25 years and we’re really happy that they’ve made a commitment to us for the next 75 years,” the duo joked.
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“When we came to ViacomCBS with a different way to produce the show during the pandemic, Chris (McCarthy), Nina (Diaz), Keyes (Hill-Edgar) and Tanya (Giles) were immediately supportive and enabled us to try something new that turned out to be really well received. We can’t wait to get back to doing traditional South Park episodes but now we can also try out new formats. It’s great to have partners who will always take a chance with us.”
The long-running cartoon series has been on hiatus amid the pandemic, with the exception of two hour-long specials during that time.
South Park Studios has been closed for more than a year, with the upcoming films, like the specials, likely to be produced remotely from the crew’s homes.
The pair also recently made headlines when they announced plans to try and buy Casa Bonita, a US restaurant that was featured on their show in a classic episode.
“We are absolutely trying to buy it,” Parker said.
“We are going to do everything we can. We want to make it right and make it amazing.”
The iconic cartoon premiered on Comedy Central back in 1997, and will launch its 25th season next year.
Originally published as South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone sign $1.2 billion movie deal
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