For decades, South Park has served as the court jester of modern society, exposing mankind’s many faults and foibles in the guise of “jokes” and “tricking Scott Tenorman into eating his parents after they get made into chili.” Unfortunately, as the world has faced the deadly coronavirus pandemic and America has been forced to at least begrudgingly acknowledge its racist past, racist present, and racist law enforcement organizations, South Park has been nowhere to be seen—unless you have HBO Max, where you can see (most of) it whenever you want.
Now, though, Comedy Central has finally announced that South Park is not only coming back, but it’s going to address the proverbial elephant in the room with a full hour-long special about COVID-19. Ooh, is it going to walk the edgy “giant douche/turd sandwich” middle ground and argue that people who refuse to wear masks are just as bad as people who are overly pushy about telling people to wear masks? Maybe (probably), but the teaser that Comedy Central released is at least largely based around the idea of a “pandemic special” being a bad idea. Here’s the official synopsis:
Randy comes to terms with his role in the COVID-19 outbreak as the on-going pandemic presents continued challenges to the citizens of South Park. The kids happily head back to school but nothing resembles the normal that they once knew; not their teachers, not their homeroom, not even Eric Cartman.
The episode—which appears to be just a one-off and not the start of a full season—will premiere on September 30 on TV and Comedy Central’s app and website, while HBO Max subscribers will be able to see it 24 hours after the premiere.