South Park: Post COVID, the first of 14 Paramount+ exclusive South Park specials, will debut on November 25. The second of the South Park specials will be available on Paramount+ in December, followed by a traditional season of the show on Comedy Central in early 2022.
South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone spoke to The Hollywood Reporter in an article published on Wednesday. They clarified that the Paramount+ specials aren't feature-length movies and Viacom may have gotten overexcited in the original press release.
The all-new “SOUTH PARK: POST COVID” Exclusive Event will debut on November 25, only on @ParamountPlus. Read the official press release: https://t.co/Mhse91IltJ pic.twitter.com/aaGSLueFWh
— South Park (@SouthPark) October 27, 2021
“With Viacom, we realized we could make [the 14 Paramount+ specials] as long or as short as we needed,” Parker said. “And they then went and called them movies. They are the ones who said we are giving them 14 movies in seven years. All I can say is for me, personally, I am 52 years old, I have made three movies in my life. So you do the math."
Stone added, "We’re trying to make what’s on Paramount+ different from anywhere else, so hourlong made-for-TV movies is where our head is at. We’ll do two made-for-TV movies every year. They will be big, but they are not quite movie scale."
With South Park renewed through season 30 in 2027, new seasons of the series will continue to air on Comedy Central every year. New episodes of South Park seasons 25 and 26 will stream on HBO Max 24 hours after they premiere on Comedy Central.
As for what to expect from the new seasons, Stone expressed enthusiasm for the return of Mr. Garrison, a character who took on the role of a Donald Trump spoof during the 2016 United States presidential elections, which was season 20 of the series.
Parker and Stone expected Trump to lose in the elections and had to rewrite an episode and make a big change to one of their most popular characters after Trump won. The series was then able to stick to mocking current events for the next four years.
"I was so f***ing happy to get Garrison back," Stone says. "That was one of the best parts of Trump losing [in the 2020 elections], we got Garrison back."
Check out what's new on HBO Max in October 2021, including Dune and Succession season 3. For anyone looking for a laugh, read IGN's list of the best comedy specials on Netflix.
Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.