South Park is part way through its 21st season on Comedy Central so we thought we’d revisit its streaming plans and whether that includes Netflix for the future. As long-time Netflix members may recall, the show resided on Netflix up until 2013 when it was removed from the service. Let’s take a look at the possibility of it coming back.
The first episode of South Park aired all the way back in 1997 where Trey Parker and Matt Stone created an animation set in a fictional town of South Park. The show continues to see great viewing figures and as of the time of writing, just had its second video game launched and is currently renewed all the way through 2019.
Why did South Park leave and where is it streaming now?
In 2013, Netflix lost the big contract with Viacom. Viacom is a company that owns several networks in America such as Nickelodeon, MTV, Spike, VH1 and in the case of South Park, Comedy Central. We’ve seen several networks depart from Netflix over the years but Viacom was one of the biggest. Some Viacom shows are still on Netflix although they’re few and far between. The big breakup hasn’t been rectified since and applies to every country around the world.
That means you won’t be seeing South Park on Netflix in any region unless Netflix and Viacom can come to a new arrangement but that doesn’t look likely. In the US, the show currently resides on Hulu with new episodes coming weekly.
South Park Recently Roasted Netflix
Although the show isn’t streaming on Netflix anymore, it hasn’t stopped South Park mentioning Netflix within its program. As you know, nothing is off-limits to South Park writers and in a recent episode, they took aim at Netflix mocking the networks recent foray into content. In the episode, Cartman has an idea for a TV show so calls up Netflix to which Netflix answered the call with “Netflix, you’re green-lit. Who am I speaking with?”.
Netflix Greenlight Department
As funny as this segment was, it does make us wish there was a lot more animated sitcoms on Netflix. With FOX departing from Netflix taking away the likes of Family Guy, Futurama, Bob’s Burgers and more, it leaves the platform a little light.Netflix is trying to build up its own animated sitcom lineup though, recent hit Big Mouth is probably the most comparable to South Park but its other shows Pacific Heat, Bojack Horseman and F is for Family all warrant a watch too.
It’s unfortunate when Netflix loses big contracts and Viacom was a tough one to watch fall through. Would you like to see South Park come back to Netflix? Let us know in the comments below.
