“South Park” and Paramount+ are mixing things up with their latest special. Instead of premiering in the fall or summer, “South Park: The End of Obesity” will premiere on the streamer on May 24.
Naturally, the special will focus on the character who has been mocked for his body since the ’90s — Cartman. In the first teaser, a doctor tells Cartman and his mom Liane that they will have to take “drastic measures” to decrease his weight. Those drastic measures? Giving a child semaglutides like Ozempic.
“We’ve been out navigating the American healthcare system,” Butters cheerfully says in the video. “I almost died.” Watch the full teaser, above.
“The advent of new weight loss drugs has a huge impact on everyone in South Park,” a logline for the special reads. “When Cartman is denied access to the life-changing medicine, the kids jump into action.”
“The End of Obesity” will premiere exclusively on Paramount+ on May 24 in the U.S. and Canada. It will then premiere in the U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria on May 25.
This will mark Paramount+’s seventh special under its exclusive deal with creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker. In 2021, “South Park” was renewed through 2027 and the creators agreed to create 14 exclusive “South Park” films for Paramount+. The deal was reportedly worth $900 million. Since these specials started airing in 2021, Paramount+ has released two a year, each within a few months of the other.
To date, the released specials have been 2021’s “Post Covid” and “Post Covid: The Return of Covid;” 2022’s “The Streaming Wars” and “The Streaming Wars Part 2;” and 2023’s “Joining the Panderverse” and “(Not Suitable for Children).”
Any deal that results in more “South Park” is typically good news for fans, but this particular deal has led to some unexpected legal headaches. Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount+ are currently in the middle of a legal battle that centers around whether or not these specials were a violation of WBD’s $500 million deal to exclusively acquire the streaming rights to “South Park.”