SOUTH PARK HAS kicked off its 27^th season with an episode that takes aim at both US President Donald Trump and the show’s network partner Paramount.

The season opener, Sermon on the Mount, shows Trump in bed with Satan, who is a recurring character in the show.

The episode also touches on Trump’s lawsuit with Paramount and the recent announcement of the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which airs on the Paramount-owned CBS.

On Wednesday, South Park’s creators penned a licensing agreement with Paramount worth a reported $1.5 billion.

Epstein

In the episode, Trump’s character is asked directly by Satan about if he is on the “Epstein list”.

In a July 7 memo, the Justice Department said the Epstein “client list” that Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed to have been reviewing did not in fact exist.

Satan asks Trump if it’s on the Epstein list. “It’s weird that whenever it comes up, you just tell everyone to relax,” Satan says.

Satan is a recurring character in the series Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The furore around the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for trafficking minors, is still roiling Trump’s administration two weeks after his Justice Department effectively closed the case, announcing there was no more information to share.

Trump’s ties to Epstein are extensive. The pair were pictured partying together during a 15-year friendship before they fell out in 2004 over a property deal, and when Trump subsequently denounced his former ally.

Jared Moskowitz holds a photo board featuring Epstein and Trump during a House Committee on Oversight and Accountability meeting last year Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The White House has also been furiously pushing back against a Wall Street Journal report that said Trump had contributed a “bawdy” letter with his signature for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003.

Paramount

In addition to taking aim at Trump, the latest South Park episode criticises Paramount and its decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

In the latest episode, a row erupts in the fictional South Park over the literal presence of Jesus in schools.

When the South Park parents protest to Trump that they don’t want Jesus in the classroom, the cartoon-Trump threatens to sue them for $5 billion.

Jesus begs them to settle and adds: “You guys saw what happened to CBS! You really want to end up like Colbert? You guys gotta stop being stupid.”

CBS is owned by Paramount, and it decided to end its long running “Late Show” days after its host Stephen Colbert blasted Paramount’s $16 million settlement with Trump as “a big fat bribe.”

Colbert is a high-profile critic of the US president and told Trump to “go fuck yourself” after his show’s cancellation.

CBS has insisted that the cancellation was “purely a financial decision.”

Demonstration in front of the Late Show Ed Sullivan Theater in support of host Stephen Colbert. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Trump had sued Paramount for $20 billion last year, alleging that CBS News’ “60 Minutes” news program deceptively edited an interview with his 2024 election rival, Kamala Harris, in her favour.

Meanwhile, Paramount is seeking to close its $8 billion merger with the entertainment company Skydance, which needs approval from the Trump-controlled Federal Communications Commission.

Some critics alleged that the $16 million dollar settlement and cancellation of The Late Show are attempts to curry favour with Trump ahead of the merger.

Meanwhile, South Park’s criticism of Paramount comes a day after it penned a deal with the company worth a reported $1.5 billion.

On Wednesday, South Park Digital Studios announced it had entered into an exclusive five-year license deal with Paramount+.

South Park Digital Studios is a joint venture by Paramount and South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker.

The deal will see 50 new episodes aired on the Paramount-owned Comedy Central over five years, which will stream exclusively on Paramount+ worldwide.

The entire South Park library will also be made available on Paramount+ in the US.

In a post on X, Dylan Byers, a senior correspondent at US media company Puck, wrote: “Hard to think of anything more defiant in media and entertainment recently than Trey Parker and Matt Stone going scorched earth on Paramount in a South Park season premiere on the heels of netting a $1.5 billion deal with the very same company.”