Recently, I've been given a hard time by my fellow millennials over my insistence on purchasing physical copies of movies, music, and video games. Today, I'd like to once again take my victory lap. 

It's a lot of legal kerfuffle, but I'll try to explain why I'm celebrating.

South Park's exclusive streaming deal with Max, formerly and soon-to-be once again HBO Max, is set to end on Jun. 30 this year. The show, along with its entire back catalog of 26 seasons worth of episodes, one theatrical movie, and eight made-for-streaming specials, is expected to stream on Paramount+ starting Jul. 1, unless a new deal with Max is made. 

Unfortunately, because of South Park's impending relocation to Paramount+, a ton of episodes of the animated sitcom will reportedly be censored, according to recent reports.

Per Max's $500 million 2019 deal with Paramount Global, their exclusive streaming rights included all of South Park's back catalog at the time, along with three future seasons' worth of episodes (Seasons 24-26). However, the deal did not explicitly include streaming rights for any made-for-streaming specials. 

In 2021, Paramount Global signed a $900 million deal with South Park Digital Studios, extending South Park’s run on Comedy Central through Season 30 (2027) and included 14 made-for-streaming specials exclusive to Paramount+.

Stan, Kyle, Cartman & Kenny survived the pandemic but things will never be the same. SOUTH PARK: POST COVID is now streaming!

— Paramount+ (@paramountplus) November 29, 2021

Seasons 24-26 of South Park notably have had the shortest number of episodes throughout the series' history, with Season 24 having two episodes, "The Pandemic Special" and "South ParQ Vaccination Special." Although the two were made-for-streaming specials released in 2020 and 2021, respectively, they were released prior to Paramount Global's deal with South Park Digital Studio. Seasons 25 and 26 each had six episodes and delivered only 14 episodes total for the 2019 HBO Max deal, far short of the expected 30 episodes based on the show’s typical 10-episode seasons.

In February 2023, Max's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), filed a lawsuit against Paramount Global, South Park Digital Studios, and MTV Entertainment Studios for over $200 million, claiming Paramount breached their initial deal by making 14 specials exclusive to Paramount+ along with their reduced episode production for Seasons 24-26.

Paramount went on to counter-sue WBD in April that year, claiming that the company had failed to pay licensing fees for episodes already released on Max.

Long story short: about 15 classic episodes that cover topics including LGBTQ+, Saddam Hussein, the depiction of Muhammad, and other controversial issues will reportedly not be included in the show's library upon moving to Paramount+. 

When South Park finally arrives on Paramount Plus in the US on July 1, the following episodes will be banned from the streaming service:

- Season 1 Episode 4: "Big Gay Al's Big Boat Ride"
- Season 2 Episode 1: "Terrance And Phillip In Not Without My Anus"
- Season 4 Episode 14:… pic.twitter.com/f0jU0S3kob

— ArtieRaccoonReviews (@ArtieReviews) May 17, 2025

Although this isn't a confirmed report by Paramount, the rumors could still prove to be true come Jul. 1st. In other countries, including Canada, some episodes of South Park are already banned from Max and Paramount+. 

Paramount+ would not be alone in censoring content on its platform. Since 2019, Disney+ has issued warnings that note many of their older films may contain "outdated cultural depictions" along with outright banning child profiles from streaming certain content. Hulu has also dabbled in banning content by removing five episodes of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia over racially sensitive jokes.

Now, I can understand platforms making some edits like removing "SFX" from the sky in The Lion King because viewers thought it read "SEX." But are we really telling people they can't watch something because a joke might be too offensive?

I've always enjoyed collecting physical media. It's like having your own personal library that tells your story through movies, music, and video games. They're tangible objects that you own and can be kept, traded, or sold at your discretion. But more recently, it feels as though collecting physical media is the only way to truly preserve media in their originally released format. 

Censorship culture presents an even broader problem, historically speaking. If we censor or outright ban some media, does that mean that it never existed? Who owns the original content in its original format? Will things be memory-holed because of it?

Worse, censorship culture in the digital era poses a broader historical problem: if digital media is censored or banned, does it cease to exist in the public consciousness? Who controls the original, unaltered content, and could selective censorship lead to a "memory hole" where unsavory media is erased or forgotten?

I’ve lost count of how many times a movie or TV show I planned to watch has been abruptly removed from streaming platforms, despite being available just days before, leaving me frustrated and empty-handed. It’s aggravating when content is removed because licensing deals expire, but infuriating when it's outright for being deemed “inappropriate.”

The only way I've found to get around this mess is through physical ownership of media. It can't be censored or banned, and I don't have to worry about whether a streaming app has a licensing agreement for it. 

So, to my millennial friends who have given me a hard time about preferring physical media over the so-called convenience of streaming and other digital purchasing options, I would like to give a hearty "I told you so."

From its inception, the entire ethos of South Park has been being as shockingly offensive to as many people as possible. It has quite literally been the key to the show's long-running success. The idea that a streaming platform may remove an entire season's worth of South Park episodes to avoid offending people is counterintuitive. 

Nobody is unaware of what South Park has to offer. If you don't like something, don't watch it. Leave us alone and stop playing content police.