South Park has abruptly brought Season 27 to an end after just five episodes, and kicked 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 has enjoyed big ratings and sparked much debate, but it has 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.
Now, three weeks after that and without explanation, South Park is back with Season 28. The expectation was that Season 27 would have 10 episodes — now it will be five for Season 27 and five for Season 28. Future episodes of South Park will air every two weeks through December 10 (October 29, November 12, November 26, and December 10).
Twisted Christian: Cartman is possessed and may be the key to stopping the Antichrist.
— South Park (@SouthPark) October 15, 2025
Watch an all-new episode of South Park tonight at 10/9c on Comedy Central and next day on Paramount+. pic.twitter.com/tSht6Emj6z
Comedy Central had delayed the Season 27 ender just hours before it was due to air, with co-creators Trey Parker and Matt 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.”
The delay sparked speculation that the episode was pulled out of fear of reprisal following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, an ally of Donald Trump who was shot at a Utah university on Wednesday, September 10. Comedy Central had pulled the scheduled repeat of South Park Season 27, Episode 2, titled Got a Nut, in which Eric Cartman cosplays as Charlie Kirk, becomes a right-wing podcaster and issues messages similar to those used by Kirk in the past as he "masterdebaters" college graduates.
Kirk had responded to the episode at the time in a TikTok post, calling it “hilarious” and even saying “South Park gets this right. I think they've been watching a lot of Charlie Kirk videos.” He added: “We have a good spirit about being made fun of. This is all a success, this is all a win. We as conservatives, we have thick skin, not thin skin, and you can make fun of us and it doesn’t matter.”
Some MAGA conservatives had hit out at South Park, drawing a line between the show and Kirk’s murder. But in a new interview with The Denver Post, Stone insisted alleged censorship had nothing to do with the decision, and reiterated the prior statement.
“No one pulled the episode, no one censored us, and you know we’d say so if true,” Stone said. “We just didn’t get it done. When you always cut it close, sometimes you mess up. That’s the price of being a procrastinator.”
As for Season 28 Episode 1, it mocks Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel, the ‘6 7’ craze, and continues the overarching storyline about Trump and Satan’s baby. Cartman, who like the other kids at South Park Elementary is obsessed with saying ‘6 7,’ is believed to be possessed by the Antichrist. Peter Thiel apparently knows just what to do. Meanwhile, disenfranchised school counselor Jesus goes on a nightmarish double date as he wrestles with PC Principal’s take on Christianity.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.