Although 2025 will be a big year for South Park season 27, which is likely to repeat the same pattern as its predecessors.

South Park seasons 25 and 26 were both released between February and April 2022 and 2023 respectively, and both were followed by two feature-length specials. However, 2024 broke this trend when South Park failed to produce another six-episode season or two specials to go along with it. Instead, May 2024 saw the arrival of the standalone special South Park: The End of Obesity. This special satirized the Ozempic craze, the US healthcare system’s infamous bureaucracy, and singer Lizzo. A September Vanity Fair interview saw co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone it it would be the year’s lone release.

2024 Was South Park's Quietest Year Since The Show Began

May’s Special The End of Obesity Was South Park’s Only New Release

With only one special and no ordinary episodes released from January to December, 2024 featured South Park’s lowest output since the show began back in 1997. Compared to two specials and six episodes in 2022 and 2023, South Park: The End of Obesity was a shockingly short offering. Even 2021 and 2020 brought two new specials apiece in the form of 2021’s South Park: Post COVID and South Park: Post COVID: The Return of COVID and 2020’s South ParQ Vaccination Special and The Pandemic Special. Meanwhile, the series reliably released ten new episodes annually from 2013-2019.

South Park seasons 25 and 26 were already three times shorter than season 2 before 2024.

Before 2013’s season 17, South Park’s output was even more substantial. Season 16 included 14 episodes, as did seasons 8-15. Season 7 had 15 episodes, while seasons 3 and 4 included 17. Although there were only 13 episodes in season 1, season 2 included 18 outings. South Park seasons 25 and 26 were already three times shorter than season 2 before 2024, and 2024 saw the show’s output almost slow to a halt. Although all of South Park’s specials have their moments, it is still dispiriting to see the show halt production for an entire year.

South Park Season 25's Delay Suggests The Show Is Slowing Down

South Park’s Creators Avoided 2024’s Election Cycle

The reason behind South Park’s creators skipping 2024 is understandable. Per Stone and Parker, the pair felt they had nothing new to say about Donald Trump and wanted to avoid the election cycle as a result. The election was guaranteed to dominate the news for the latter half of 2024 and this left the pair feeling uninspired, resulting in the delay. South Park skipping 2024 arguably made sense since the show struggled to cover Trump’s election in 2016 when the creators itted that their assumptions around the election’s outcome resulted in a last-minute rewrite for season 20.

Season 20’s concluding episodes were uniquely messy and disted since the preceding season had an elaborate serialized storyline that hinged on a Clinton victory. As such, South Park avoiding Donald Trump’s election campaign was a logical move for the show in 2024. However, Trump proceeded to win the 2024 election, meaning the series will inevitably need to address him again in season 27. This could prove a problem for the series considering Stone and Parker conceded that they had nothing left to say about the divisive politician. Moreover, their projects will make things even harder for the pair.

2025 Will Be A Huge Year For South Park

The Show’s Creators Have A Movie Arriving In July

According to Variety, South Park’s co-creators are working on a political comedy movie alongside Kendrick Lamar that is slated for release in July 2025. 2024’s minimal output could mean that the show’s co-creators will return in 2025 with plenty of new South Park episodes and specials to coincide with this project. However, the movie could just as easily mean that South Park’s creators won’t have time to focus on the series any more than they did in 2024.

Stone and Parker’s last major non-South Park project, the Broadway show The Book of Mormon, was a massive success.

While South Park: The End of Obesity was fun, Parker and Stone might be more interested in this Lamar collaboration than the umpteenth outing of their long-running series. A highly publicized feud with Drake and subsequent successful album made the already acclaimed Lamar one of the hottest musical talents on the planet, and Stone and Parker’s last major non-South Park project, the Broadway show The Book of Mormon, was a massive success. As such, there is a good chance that South Park’s 2025 could be just as quiet as 2024 was for the show.

Source: Vanity Fair

Variety