If you’re staring at your TV screen right now wondering why there’s a rerun of "Bass to Mouth" instead of a fresh satire on whatever weird thing happened in the news this morning, you aren't alone. Honestly, keeping track of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s release schedule has become a full-time job.
We used to get 14 episodes a year like clockwork. Now? We get tiny "mini-seasons" and massive $900 million streaming specials that drop whenever the creators feel like they’ve finally finished tinkering with the animation.
Basically, the traditional TV schedule is dead. But here is the good news: we actually know exactly where the show stands right now in early 2026.
When is the next new episode of South Park?
Right now, the short answer is: not tonight.
If you look at the current Comedy Central listings for late January 2026, you’re going to see a lot of Season 15 and Season 20 repeats. We just came off a very intense run. Season 27 premiered on July 23, 2025, and it was followed immediately by Season 28, which kicked off in October 2025.
That "double season" run was a bit of a curveball. Most fans expected a long break after the fifth episode of Season 27 (the one titled "Conflict of Interest"), but the guys jumped straight into Season 28 to capitalize on the 6-7 TikTok trend and some pretty wild political parodies involving Peter Thiel.
💡 You might also like: Ebonie Smith Movies and TV Shows: The Child Star Who Actually Made It Out Okay
Season 28 wrapped up its five-episode run on December 10, 2025. Historically, when South Park finishes a winter run, they go dark for a while.
Why the wait feels different this time
The gap between Season 26 and Season 27 was nearly two and a half years. It was brutal. Matt and Trey were busy with the Casa Bonita renovation and that massive $1.5 billion deal with Paramount.
Now that the deal is signed and the streaming rights have finally moved from Max to Paramount+ in the U.S., the production rhythm has shifted. We are looking at a Q3 2026 return for Season 29.
- Expected Premiere: July or August 2026.
- Format: Likely another 5-episode "mini-season" on Comedy Central.
- Streaming: Paramount+ remains the exclusive home for next-day streaming.
The Paramount+ Specials: Are they over?
There has been a ton of chatter online about whether the "Exclusive Events" (those hour-long movies like The End of Obesity) are finished.
Originally, the deal called for 14 specials. We’ve already seen seven of them, including Joining the Panderverse and Not Suitable for Children. While some Reddit rumors suggested the specials were a "fix" for the split contract between Warner and Paramount, the new 2025 extension actually solidified that more long-form content is coming.
📖 Related: Eazy-E: The Business Genius and Street Legend Most People Get Wrong
We are still "owed" seven more specials under the current roadmap. While there isn't one on the schedule for February 2026, the pattern suggests we might see a standalone special drop in the spring to bridge the gap before Season 29 starts this summer.
The "6-7" Joke and Season 28
One thing that really confused people was why Season 28 started so fast after Season 27 ended. It turns out, that was basically a meta-joke. Parker and Stone have a long-running gag about the "6-7" structure, and by splitting 10 episodes into two distinct "seasons" (27 and 28), they technically fulfilled a production milestone while keeping the episodes feeling like one long, continuous story arc.
This means that even though we've "had" two seasons recently, we’ve actually only seen 10 episodes in the last 12 months.
What to expect from South Park Season 29
When the show does come back in late 2026, don't expect it to look like the South Park of 2010. The bi-weekly release schedule is the new normal.
Comedy Central confirmed during the Season 27 run that the "leisurely pace" helps the team maintain quality. Gone are the days of the "6 Days to Air" documentary-style crunch for every single week of the year. They sort of do it in bursts now.
👉 See also: Drunk on You Lyrics: What Luke Bryan Fans Still Get Wrong
You’ll likely see:
- Bi-weekly drops: Instead of every Wednesday, it's every other Wednesday.
- Serialized arcs: Expect the story from the end of Season 28 (where Stan’s arc reached a weirdly emotional peak) to carry over.
- Paramount+ Exclusivity: If you are still trying to find new episodes on Max, stop. They aren't there. The "Streaming Wars" are over, and Paramount won the rights to the boys from Colorado.
How to stay updated without refreshing Twitter
The best way to know the second a trailer drops is to keep an eye on the official South Park YouTube channel. They usually post a 15-second teaser exactly seven days before a premiere.
Also, if you're a cable cutter, make sure your Paramount+ subscription is active. New episodes hit the app at 3:00 AM PT / 6:00 AM ET the morning after they air on Comedy Central.
If you're looking for something to scratch the itch while you wait for the late 2026 return, the "South Park: Snow Day!" game and the constant rotation of "South Park: After Dark" marathons on Pluto TV are your best bets. Just don't expect a new episode tonight—the boys are currently in the lab, and if history is any indication, they’re probably waiting for someone in the real world to do something incredibly stupid so they can make fun of it.
Next Steps for Fans:
- Check your Paramount+ account to ensure you have the "Showtime" tier if you want the specials, as some are gated behind the premium plan.
- Clear your cache on the Comedy Central app if you're seeing "expired" tokens; it's a known bug in the 2026 interface.
- Watch for a potential "Spring Special" announcement in March, which has been the traditional window for the first of the yearly long-form events.