After quite the long hiatus, it turns out that new South Park episodes are going to be coming to Comedy Central sooner than most people likely expected. Season 25 of South Park is right around the corner, and it means that this will be the first time since 2019 that new episodes of the long-running show have hit the network.

The South Park animated series launched all the way back in August 1997, and it's been going strong on television, in movie theaters, through streaming services, and in video game format ever since. Over the course of its run, South Park has gathered up five Primetime Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award, but when the coronavirus pandemic hit, it threw a real wrench into the works when it came to producing full seasons. In fact, other than a few streaming specials, the show has basically shut down since 2019.

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Now it's making a triumphant return, however, in a somewhat abbreviated run. The season 25 episodes of South Park were officially announced in a blog post on the show's webpage, as well as the date people can expect to see the season debut. The new six-episode run will kick off on February 2, meaning that fans of the animated comedy only have another couple of weeks to wait. The blog post also pointed out that not only is the show returning to Comedy Central for that 25th season, but it's staying on the same day and time as it's been since its very beginning.

That in and of itself is quite the accomplishment considering how often programs will be shifted in order to try and take advantage of the best viewership windows. Now everything has remained the same, although the six episodes are among the shortest any season has been since the program first hit airwaves. Season 23, which was the last full season to hit the network, was shorter than earlier years but still offered up 10 episodes.

The announcement that the next season is on the way in just a few weeks came with a signature joke from the South Park creators. Co-creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker were quoted in the blog post as saying they were quite excited to be "half done" with South Park and it's massive cast of characters, humorously claiming they were planning 50 seasons of the show.

Part of the official announcement also mentioned that the show and MTV Entertainment Studios recently struck an "expansive" new deal that will mean more movies, shows, and video games are on the way. As part of that deal, the program might not be around for another 25 years, but South Park will at least remain on Comedy Central through 2027.

South Park season 25 will launch on February 2, 2022.

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Source: South Park|Twitter