MUMBAI: Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the co-creators of ?South Park? and ?The Book of Mormon?, have tied up with The Raine Group, a boutique merchant bank focused exclusively on entertainment, digital media and sports.

They have announced the formation of Important Studios, a new venture consolidating Parker and Stone?s creative work and future projects into one company.
 
Important Studios will look to build on the duo?s unmatched success across the film, television, live stage, and digital platforms. Raine will take a minority stake in the company, providing advisory services as well as financing for future projects. Important Studios plans to continue the growth of the ?South Park? and ?Book of Mormon? franchises, create new content across different media, and expand distribution of Parker and Stone?s work worldwide.

Raine Group co-founders Joe Ravitch, Jeff Sine said, "Trey and Matt are unique content creators, having built two iconic global media brands. They have established themselves as thought leaders in the entertainment and digital world, while at the same time using satire to make their audience aware of critical social issues. It has always been core to Raine?s thesis to align ourselves directly with extraordinary content creators, and we are excited to partner with Trey and Matt to create new global entertainment properties."

Parker and Stone said, "Having worked with several different studios over the years, we came to realise that our favorite people in the world are ourselves. We hope to work with ourselves for a long time and are excited to now work with ourselves in a much greater capacity."

MUMBAI: Trey Parker and Matt Stone have reached a new deal with US media conglomerate Viacom?s channel Comedy Central to extend cable?s longest-running animated series, ?South Park?.

The announcement was made by Comedy Central president Michele Ganeless. The deal for three additional seasons ensures the series will have original episodes through 2016 and a milestone 20th season. Parker and Stone will continue to write, direct and edit every episode of ?South Park?, as they have since the premiere of the series in 1997.

Ganeless said, "The collective genius of Matt and Trey knows no bounds. Week after week and season after season they continue to surprise and delight ?South Park? fans, and that includes all of us here at Comedy Central. We?re thrilled that the adventures of Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman will continue through 2016."

Parker and Stone said, "Comedy Central has been our home for 15 years and we love working there. ?South Park? is a blast and we can?t wait to make more."