SBS has officially decided to pull the plug on airing South Park after broadcasting the irreverent cartoon for 23 years.
It seems that the public broadcaster wants to switch focus to original Aussie content on SBS Viceland instead of licensing the American animated sitcom geared towards adults.
“After 23 years, SBS made the decision to let South Park go, mmkay,” an SBS spokesman said, referencing the catchphrase of South Park character Mr Mackey.
“The edgy, irreverent and often controversial series broke new ground when SBS premiered the cult phenomenon in the late nineties, opening Australian audiences up to a type of humour we’d never experienced before.
“We look forward to breaking new ground with some original content propositions for SBS Viceland.”
No matter what the plan is, South Park is gonna leave some pretty big shoes to fill once it’s gone.
Back in the late ’90s, former SBS Commissioning Editor Mark Atkin bought the Aussie broadcasting rights to the cartoon.
“Comedy Central couldn’t get meetings with 10, with Seven, nobody would return their calls. It’s not like a lot of people were putting their hands up,” he told SBS.
Naturally, SBS then went on to secure rights to South Park season two, and the rest is Aussie tv history, with the show becoming an absolute smash hit on our screens.
“After that when all the other networks started knocking and they could have sold the program on to someone else, probably for more money, they decided to stick with SBS because we’d worked with them when nobody else would take their calls,” Mr Atkin said.
“Everybody was talking about it and all these people who had never watched SBS before started tuning in, and through that finding out what else was on the network.”
South Park will still continue on American screens with the premier of season 23 slated to drop on September 30. Currently, there is unknown as to where the premiere will be available on Australian channels.
Au revoir boys of South Park, we’ll miss your ridiculous antics.
