It seems as though fans can't get enough of South Park. As if being on the air for two and a half decades wasn't enough evidence of the show being in constantly high demand, it appears that fans be getting more of the vulgar adult cartoon in the near future and on more mediums than cable television.
In light of the unsurprisingly positive reception that the South Park COVID specials received, Paramount Plus proudly announced that the series will be getting two more specials that will be streamed exclusively on the streaming service. These two new specials are part of the deal that South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker agreed to when the show was renewed for six more seasons last year, ensuring that the show will be on through 2027.
Paramount Plus announced the two new South Park specials during a presentation at the Television Critics Association. According to Collider, a Paramount Plus representative confirmed both specials would be released in 2022, though there are currently no release windows set in stone. As the rep reportedly explained, the South Park specials are “not necessarily always at the end of the year and not necessarily two-part events. We're keeping those options, and like we said we’re incredibly flexible in terms of bringing those stories to Paramount+, but there will be two this year."
This should come as very exciting news to South Park's devoted fanbase. Stone and Parker have demonstrated that there are no bounds to their comedic and creative abilities through South Park. The show's consistently hilarious commentary on current events has resonated with the audience for years on end. This most recent announcement only demonstrates that the network continues to trust them to keep up the good work. This news also serves to differentiate between South Park and the other long-running adult cartoons that have stayed on the air for the same amount of time as them, like The Simpsons and Family Guy. While those shows continue to get renewed, their networks don't currently trust them to add specials to their workloads. The Simpsons does have animated shorts exclusively on Disney Plus, but shorts workload-wise falter compared to full-length specials. In other words, they still believe South Park can knock 'em dead.
In all fairness, it helps that Stone and Parker have never had to do full-length seasons of South Park, unlike your typical television show - 22 episodes are the standard minimum for a full season - but it's still impressive that they haven't lost their touch after all these years. Some creators have ended their dominant run on TV before their shows lost their flavor - Jerry Seinfeld - but since the Stone/Parker duo haven't run out of material yet, there's no reason for them to follow the same path.
Sadly, there usually comes a point where a network demands enough that their creators will bite off more than they can chew. South Park's track record is mind-blowingly impressive, but not every single episode of the show has gotten universal acclaim. That's to be expected, but it shows that even geniuses like Stone and Parker are human. These specials will hopefully continue to show that those two still have their fastball, but if they are signs of the show's age, no one will blame them.
South Park season 25 is now airing on Comedy Central.
Source: Collider