Love it for the humor and adventure it packs or hate it for its dark humor and profane language, South Park is one of the longest-running animated sitcoms that have ever graced our screens. Since it came on the air in August 1997, the show has garnered a huge following and become infamous for being very inappropriate for younger audiences, even though it is a cartoon. This notwithstanding, the show has received numerous nominations and awards and has spawned a theater film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999). But best of all the recognitions, South Park was honored with the tenth position on TV Guide’s list of the Greatest TV Cartoon of All Time.
The length of time South Park has spent on air has been a very big delight to its numerous fans but has also spurred a debate about just how long producers of the show intend to keep it on. Its longevity has equally been a huge plus for Comedy Central and in many instances, has been given due credit for drawing fans to the channel, as well as its subsequent rise from obscurity. But as the saying goes, everything that has a beginning is bound to come to an end sometime. Find out what the case is with South Park.
Is South Park Still Going or Ending?
From its inception, South Park has received enormous positive reviews which began with its first episode that scored an amazing 1.3 rating on the TV rating site Nielsen, gathered from over 980,000 viewers. The success of the first episode saw a build-up of fans on school campuses where fans sprung up to better strengthen the support for the show. Barely three months and eight episodes later, the show’s viewership had tripled and carried Comedy Central along in the wake of its fame.
As the producers of the show churned out more seasons, the viewership of the show started going in an ebb and flow that saw it rise at one point and lower in another. This continued until the current twenty-three seasons which the show has endured with the massive density of watchers being mostly from Colorado. For many, it’s a wonder that the show has endured this long considering the number of criticisms and controversies that have followed in its wake, especially concerning its suitability for young audiences who were the most eager to buy the ideas portrayed no matter how outrageous they are.
But despite the controversies, South Park has endured and is still going strong with no plans to end anytime soon. There are no specifics on when the show will end just yet, but representative Matt Stone, who is co-creator of the Comedy Central hit, gave a not so helpful hint when he said that the one thing he is sure of is that the show will not still be on air in twelve years to come. But apparently, this is to be taken with a pinch of salt because he said the exact same thing over a decade ago.
The Sitcom Has Been Renewed Till Season 26
That’s right, you heard well. To answer the question of many fans who wondered if there are more seasons in the works beyond the 23rd which began airing in September 2019, Comedy Central announced that the hit show has been renewed till season 26th. The creators of the show are on the way to make history as some of the most transcendent artists of our era alongside great artists like The Beatles and Muhammed Ali.
Following behind The Simpsons which is the longest-running animated series, South Park falls short by just 4 seasons. Still holding the title, The Simpsons has often had people asking if the series is ever going to end. However, being that both shows are not showing signs of slowing down anytime soon, core fans are hopeful that long after The Simpsons end, South Park would still be on air and would still be very much loved.
A good advantage of the number of years the show would endure is the fact that the characters are animated and as such, there would be no compulsion to bring it to an end because of aging.
