“South Park” returned with a new episode this week, and with it came an unexpected bit of news – it wasn’t the sixth episode of Season 27 but the first episode of Season 28.
This means Season 27, which was originally planned to run ten episodes, has ended after just five. A spokesperson for Comedy Central confirmed to The LA Times the new season switch, but no details were provided as regarding why the change took place.
The 28th season premiere had South Park Elementary enveloped in the ‘6-7’ TikTok trend, the phrase referring to a viral lyric from a Skrilla single which has become part of the cultural zeitgeist.
Despite the season name change, fans of the long-running satire are still expected to get four more episodes this year.
Recent episodes of the series have drawn strong viewership with its skewering of topical issues involving Trump, ICE, the FCC and tariffs drawing a lot of chatter – along with making fun of the show’s owner Paramount.
Season 27 also had a strange release schedule with gaps of 1-3 weeks between episodes. The second episode, which parodied slain political influencer Charlie Kirk weeks before his death, will not air in reruns but is available on the Paramount+ service.
