SOUTH PARK Extends Its Run Through 2019

A few weeks ago, Trey Parker and Matt Stone sat down for an interview with IGN's Podcast Unlocked, during which they put to bed any rumors that South Park's days might be numbered. "We won't stop until we get canceled", Stone said, to which Parker added, "We've been waiting to get canceled for 18 fucking years". 

Today, a dropping of the axe looks more unlikely than ever: Hulu just signed a $192m deal that will add three years to South Park's contract with Comedy Central/Viacom, keeping it on the air through 2019 (and up through season 23). That'll bring the grand total of South Park episodes up over 300, pretty much guaranteeing that - for the rest of your life - South Park will be airing on some network, somewhere in the world, at some point during the day.

Great news for the South Park guys and Comedy Central, sure, but that's also great news for Hulu, a service still struggling to compete with Netflix in our brave, new streaming-media world. It's certainly not for lack of trying (read: spending): lest we forget, the company recently plunked down $160m for the exclusive rights to Seinfeld's back catalogue. 

Mostly, though, it's good news for us. Parker and Stone have long-since cemented their status as cornerstones of the modern comedy landscape, and I'm both comforted and thrilled to know that - in addition to whatever else they cook up over the next five years - we'll have new episodes of South Park to look forward to. Congrats to all involved.