‘South Park’ breaks longstanding viewing record with controversial premiere

The opening episode of South Park‘s new season, which mocked Donald Trump savagely, has become the highest-rated premiere of the animated show since 1999.

The episode, ‘Sermon on the Mount,’ aired last week on Comedy Central and Paramount+. It drew huge criticism from the White House, which has seemingly only bolstered viewing figures for the long-running series.

According to Comedy Central, ‘Sermon on the Mount’ has been viewed almost six million times already across its viewing platforms, including linear television and Paramount+.

In comparison with the premiere of Season 26 in 2023, viewing figures for the latest premiere of South Park have jumped by a staggering 68 per cent.

At one point during the episode, Trump is seen in bed with regular South Park character Satan, which caused White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers to say, “The Left’s hypocrisy truly has no end – for years they have come after South Park for what they labelled as ‘offence’ content, but suddenly they are praising the show.”.

Rogers added: “Just like the creators of South Park, the Left has no authentic or original content, which is why their popularity continues to hit record lows. This show hasn’t been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention.”

Deadline report that an administration official said Trump was “seething over the childish attack” in the South Park episode, which also poked fun at his alleged connection to the Epstein files.

The next South Park episode airs on August 6th. In a recently released trailer, Trump is again shown with Satan, this time sitting next to one another at a dinner party. The teaser clip also ridicules conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, who is seen asking a college student in a campus debate, “You can just shut up, Bebe, because you hate America and you love abortions.”

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