South Park made its long-awaited return this past July, and shocked viewers with a topical first episode titled “Sermon on the ‘Mount.” Show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone delayed the new season to 2025 due to wanting to skip on parodying President Donald Trump, but this first episode did not hold back, using a caricature of Trump, Eric Cartman’s devastation at woke being dead, and PC Principal becoming power Christian principle. “Sermon on the ‘Mount” saw the return of Jesus’ character to the show where he gave a whispered warning about how any protest against Trump will just lead to the residents of South Park getting sued, and the episode ending in a parody endorsement for the president,
The show came out with a bang, and kept people talking with other episodes about ICE, the use of ChatGPT, Labubu dolls (which can apparently be used to summon the anti-christ), betting apps, and so much more. Fans anxiously awaited each new episode that was sure to be making fun of something, whether that was within the government, pop-culture, or even firing shots at Paramount.
The show has had a shaky upload schedule, with the premiere being delayed, then moving to bi-weekly airings. Unexpectedly, South Park ended season 27 after only five episodes, and started season 28 on Oct. 15 with the episode “Twisted Christian,” which parodies the way some people who claim they are Christians act, and Jesus’ frustration with this.
This unexpected end to season 27 had fans questioning Parker and Stone, because prior to the COVID-19 pandemic the show had been releasing ten episodes a year, this changed for seasons 25 and 26, which each only had six episodes. The inconsistent episode count is not just annoying fans though, with it being a major factor in the Warner Bros. Discovery lawsuit against Paramount over the streaming rights to the show.
South Park is the type of show to play by their own rules, and continued to do this by changing the airing of episode two of season 28 to Halloween for a special, originally supposed to air on Oct. 29. The rest of the episodes for season 28 are supposed to air on Nov. 12, 26, and Dec. 10, but if they are anything like the rest of the season, they may be subject to change.
