‘South Park’ Fans Are Warming Up to the Longer Wait Between Episodes

Almost everyone in the South Park fandom knows exactly why there won’t be a new episode this week, but, so long as this season continues to bring bangers, the fans will abide a little network nipple play.

With South Park's new biweekly release schedule, Paramount Global has decided to give series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone twice the amount of time to make each new episode of Season 27 while they rake in twice the subscription fees of South Park fans who will definitely drop Paramount+ as soon as the season ends. And, while Parker and Stone are, undoubtedly, more than happy to double the timeline on their notoriously hectic production schedule, most fans of South Park know damn well that the decision had nothing to do with easing the stress on the South Park creative team and everything to do with milking this record-breaking, headline-grabbing, Trump-triggering season for every last cent as Paramount seeks to recoup the $1.5 billion that they just threw at their biggest stars.

Some South Park viewers initially bristled at the biweekly schedule that Paramount sneak-implemented after the Season 27 premiere proved to be a massive, unprecedented success, but, recently, many fans have learned to appreciate the breather between killer episodes — which probably kills the buzz for Paramount’s complaints department:

In a recent viral Reddit thread about Paramount’s decision to space out the remaining seven episodes of South Park Season 27, some fans admitted that, while they fully understand that the company that Parker and Stone practically had to sue to get their contract extension is using this biweekly break to squeeze double the cash out of the South Park fandom, they're happy to pay a premium for a season this good. Plus, the extra week allows viewers to fully savor Season 27.

“If there’s only 10 episodes per season, I have no problem with this. Helps stretch the season out,” one fan said of the artificially extended schedule.

Another concurred, “Much rather have that than only 2 months of South Park.”

“Also let’s each episode breathe,” one user added. “Nowadays with binging and such this is a unique experience.”

Others argued that, while the profit motive may have been the driving factor behind the move, the new release schedule could very well work in Parker and Stone’s favor all the same. “So far it’s the best season in years, and I’m fine with them taking their time to ensure they can maintain that quality,” a supportive South Park fan said of the show’s 13 Days to Air.

But one South Park fan went even further, suggesting that the delayed releases could have political implications as well. “They probably are doing it this way to keep Donnie unfocused about it, and also for his next fuck up to include in the storyline,” they wrote about President Donald “Saddam Hussein” Trump’s newfound rivalry with South Park in Season 27.

Whatever the justification behind spacing out new South Park episodes, it’s clear that much the fandom is willing to withstand the wait, and some of them will even keep their Paramount+ subscriptions a couple months longer to do so. Meanwhile, plenty of other less savory South Park fans are joining Captain Cartman’s gang in Somalia.