Just hours after Paramount had agreed to buy the global streaming rights for South Park in a five-year deal worth $US1.5 billion ($2.27 billion), the notoriously controversial TV show kicked off its 27th season with an episode taking aim at Donald Trump.

The episode also came as its parent company, Paramount, saw its multi-billion-dollar merger with entertainment company Skydance reach government approval.

Federal regulators on Thursday approved Paramount’s $US8 billion ($12.15 billion) merger, after months of turmoil revolving around Mr Trump’s legal battle with 60 Minutes, the crown jewel of Paramount-owned broadcast network CBS.

The Trump administration had been rumoured to block the hard-fought deal with Skydance, until Paramount earlier this month agreed to pay a $US16 million ($24 million) settlement with the president.

Critics of the settlement lambasted it as a veiled bribe to appease Mr Trump, amid rising alarm over editorial independence overall.

Further outrage also emerged after CBS said it was cancelling Stephen Colbert’s Late Show just days after the comedian sharply criticised the parent company’s settlement on air.

Paramount cited financial reasons, but big names both within and outside the company have questioned those motives.

In a statement accompanying the deal’s approval, FCC chairman Brendan Carr hailed the merger as an opportunity to bring more balance to “once-storied” CBS.

“Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly. It is time for a change,”

Mr Carr said.

Federal regulators approved Paramount’s $US8 billion merger after months of turmoil. (Reuters: Dado Ruvic/File)

South Park depicts Trump in bed with Satan

In a no-holds-barred season premiere, South Park shows the foul-mouthed Cartman appalled that NPR has been taken off the air by Mr Trump while Randy, a parent, is disturbed by the presence of Jesus in public elementary school.

Complaints to the fictional White House receive only a threat from Mr Trump to sue the mountain town of South Park for billions of dollars.

The episode also sees the US president begging Satan for sex and threatening to bomb Canada.

The season opener also departs from its bare-bones animation to feature an AI-generated short of an overweight Mr Trump staggering through the desert.

The short ends with a naked Mr Trump as the narrator says: “Trump. His penis is teeny-tiny, but his love for us is large.”

South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker are known for testing the boundaries of television. (Reuters: Fred Prouser)

Predictably, the White House was not amused.

“This show hasn’t been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention,” spokesperson Taylor Rogers said.

“President Trump has delivered on more promises in just six months than any other president in our country’s history — and no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump’s hot streak.”

The adult animated series, which frequently touches on hot-button issues in American life, is now in its 27th season.

AP/AFP