Topline
A new episode of “South Park” will not air Wednesday night as originally planned, series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone announced Wednesday afternoon, delaying the show’s first episode since it faced scrutiny for satirizing conservative activist Charlie Kirk weeks before his assassination.
“South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker said Wednesday afternoon they did not finish a new episode of the series in time. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Paramount+)
Getty Images for Paramount+
Key Facts
“Apparently when you do everything at the last minute sometimes you don’t get it done,” Parker and Stone said in a statement, adding: “This one’s on us. We didn’t get it done in time.”
Comedy Central confirmed to Forbes the delayed episode, the fifth episode of season 27, would instead air next Wednesday, Sept. 24, at 10 p.m. EDT.
Some “South Park” fans noticed by Wednesday, no teaser trailer or synopsis for the upcoming episode had been released, a break from previous weeks in which the “South Park” social media accounts would tease new episodes days in advance.
After the new episode on Sept. 24, the show will take a three-week break, according to Comedy Central, with new episodes airing every two weeks beginning Oct. 15.
According to Comedy Central’s schedule for Wednesday night, the new episode was slated to air after reruns of all the season 27 episodes released so far—except for the second episode, “Got a Nut,” which Comedy Central pulled from the air after Kirk was assassinated.
Why Did Comedy Central Pull An Episode Of “south Park?”
“Got a Nut” was pulled from Comedy Central’s rerun rotation last week following Kirk’s assassination, though the episode remains available to stream on Paramount+. In the episode, main character Eric Cartman tries to win a debating award, the “Charlie Kirk Award for Young Masterdebaters,” by debating other students at South Park Elementary about political issues. In one scene in the episode, Cartman adopts a haircut that looks similar to Kirk’s while conducting a debate, in which he tells one student who disagrees with him on reproductive rights that she must “hate America and love abortions.” After the episode aired, Kirk repeatedly praised the show’s portrayal of him, calling it a “badge of honor” and stating he was a lifelong fan of the show.
Key Background
Season 27 of “South Park” began airing in July and quickly garnered attention for its frequent, topical lampoons of the Trump administration. In multiple episodes, Trump is portrayed as Satan’s lover and is often depicted with small genitals. After spoofing Trump during the season premiere, the White House slammed the show in a statement, claiming it “hasn’t been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention.” “Got a Nut,” the episode that satirized Kirk, also took aim at Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and immigration raids. Throughout the episode, the cartoon Noem’s Botox procedure repeatedly melts off her face, and the character shoots a dog, a reference to Noem’s claim that she once shot and killed her dog because it was aggressive. Noem ripped the portrayal as “petty,” calling it “so lazy to constantly make fun of women for how they look.” In the most recent episode, “South Park” spoofed Trump’s tariffs, which caused the prices of Labubu dolls to skyrocket.
Further Reading
Comedy Central Pulls ‘South Park’ Rerun Featuring Charlie Kirk Parody After Shooting—Here’s How Series Satirized Him (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/09/17/south-park-delays-new-episode-hours-before-scheduled-air-time/
