It hasn’t been a particularly great few weeks for Paramount. Thanks to its decision to pay Donald Trump $16m rather than fight a lawsuit that many predicted it would win – a move that happened just as they needed federal approval of an $8bn merger – all hell has broken loose.
Stephen Colbert (whose Late Show airs on Paramount-owned CBS) called the settlement a “big fat bribe”, precipitating the cancellation of his show. In response, Jon Stewart (whose Daily Show airs on Paramount-owned Comedy Central) aired a segment in which he and a gospel choir led the studio audience through a repeated chant of “fuck you” directed at his paymasters. And now, in what might just be the worst possible timing for both Paramount and Trump, South Park is back.
