The decision to bring South Park Season 27 to an end after just five episodes and kick off Season 28 has gone without an official explanation from either Comedy Central, Paramount, or series co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. But a recent article has suggested there was misreporting around how many episodes Season 27 would include before it even began, and that the showrunners always planned for Season 27 and Season 28 to have five episodes each.
Last week, South Park shocked fans by kicking off Season 28 with a new episode dubbed Twisted Christian. Season 28, Episode 1 — the sixth episode of South Park broadcast this year — hit Comedy Central on October 15.
Season 27 had enjoyed big ratings and sparked much debate, but it also suffered an erratic release schedule. The first two episodes arrived on the standard weekly schedule, but then the series switched to a biweekly schedule before the delayed fifth episode, which now goes down as the series finale, aired three weeks later on September 25.
Three weeks after that and without explanation, South Park returned with Season 28. Fans had expected that Season 27 would have 10 episodes — but we now know it will be five for Season 27 and five for Season 28. The final four episodes of Season 28 will now air every two weeks through December 10 (October 29, November 12, November 26, and December 10).
So, what happened? Parker and Stone have yet to comment in an official capacity, but The Hollywood Reporter said that a representative of South Park suggested there was misreporting over how many episodes Season 27 was meant to contain, and that the showrunners planned all along for Seasons 27 and 28 to feature just five episodes each. Comedy Central told THR that no announcement was made regarding the number of episodes in season 27 at the time it debuted.
THR suggests there’s more to this story, and we’re left with plenty of questions. Fans are speculating that the decision has something to do with Parker and Stone’s reported $1.5 billion contract to make 50 episodes of South Park over five years for Paramount, but that remains unconfirmed for now. And it’s worth noting that Season 27 did not end as you’d expect a season of TV to with a wrap up of its various storylines. Indeed Season 28 kicked off with an episode that seamlessly continued the overarching storyline of Donal Trump and Satan having a baby. If the fifth and sixth episodes weren’t labeled Season 27 and Season 28, you’d never know South Park had ended one season and began another.
Comedy Central had delayed the Season 27 ender just hours before it was due to air, with Parker and Stone insisting the blame lay at their door. “Apparently when you do everything at the last minute sometimes you don’t get it done,” the pair told Variety. “This one’s on us. We didn’t get it done in time. Thanks to Comedy Central and South Park fans for being so understanding. Tune in next week!”
Parker and Stone create each episode week-by-week, which makes for a chaotic production but topical shows. But they had switched to a biweekly schedule for Season 27, with the elongated production time allowing the pair more room to work on each episode, something Paramount was reportedly happy with.
It’s worth noting that during their San Diego Comic-Con 2025 panel, which took place the day after the Donald Trump-skewering Season 27 opener aired, Parker said the pair were unsure what the next episode would be, revealing the decision was “super stressful.”
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
