South Park Needs To Change Moving Forward

South Park has become one of the longest-running animated series in North America, rivaled only by heavy hitters like The Simpsons when it comes to the decades of stories under its belt. With the recent reveal of a trailer for South Park Season 27, it seems that Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman are dealing with some topical issues of the day as their small Colorado town is once again facing some big problems. Arriving on July 9th this summer, the comedic content of the series remains a high mark for Paramount and Comedy Central but the animated show needs to make a big change moving forward.

While the quality of the twenty-seventh season is anyone’s guess at this point, what we’re proposing for South Park to change is its schedule and the method of delivery when it comes to its stories. It’s refreshing to once again see the Comedy Central juggernaut returning to a weekly schedule for its next season but the franchise has taken a big departure in recent years. Seasons twenty-five and twenty-six only consisted of six episodes a piece, with various television specials arriving as Paramount+ exclusives, including the likes of South Park: The End of Obesity, South Park: The Streaming Wars, and South Park: Post COVID. These specials make for a good way to placate South Park fans but they feel like a band-aid on the bigger problem for the show, a steady release schedule.

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South Park: A Weekly Event

Now we’re not knocking the idea of giving South Park fans special events, but replacing season episode counts with them feels like a missed opportunity. In past seasons, up until season seventeen, South Park released anywhere from fourteen to seventeen episodes per season weekly. This allowed for Stan, Kenny, Kyle, and Cartman to explore some wild adventures and touch on multiple big happenings of the day. Season 17 changed things up by releasing ten episodes per season moving forward, then shifting to six episodes for seasons twenty-five and twenty-six. Based on this track record, season twenty-seven might do the same as its previous two predecessors.

A lot is happening in the world today and taking an approach that would let Matt Stone and Trey Parker dig into these events more rapidly with a “full season” seems like the best option. What also has benefitted some past seasons is the ability to tell an overarching story that weaves in various plotlines, a fact that can be missing from the specials themselves. There is also the idea of “appointment television” in this day and age, getting viewers to watch a show airing live rather than immediately hitting up streaming, a fact that must be taken into account by studios looking to keep network and cable television afloat.

South Park’s return to a seasonal approach in 2025 is a godsend for the series and we are crossing our fingers that Parker and Stone continue this route in the future. Here’s to hoping that seasons stick around and that said seasons receive more episodes to further flesh out the surreal series.

Want to see what Trey Parker and Matt Stone have in the works moving forward? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on South Park and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.