South Park's Epic Holiday Comeback: Must-Watch Specials in 2023!

Summary

By opting to create feature-length specials rather than a complete season of episodes, South Park has brought back beloved traditions such as Halloween and Christmas episodes.

South Park's style seamlessly aligns with the essence of Halloween episodes, capitalizing on its horror elements and adeptness in crafting witty and graphic moments.

In the anticipation of a potential continuation of a two-part special, the second installment could bring back the humorously satirical Christmas episode, targeting the overly sentimental and overly sweet aspects of the holiday season.

South Park fans have been waiting for years for a Halloween or Christmas episode, but the show's upcoming feature-length specials may finally address this. The release schedule for South Park has undergone a significant change in recent years, ever since the show's co-creators signed a $900 million deal with Paramount+. Instead of the traditional 10 to 15 new episodes per year, South Park now releases shorter, six-episode seasons early in the year, followed by one or two feature-length specials later on. In 2021, this trend began with the release of the two-part special South Park: Post Covid in November. This was followed by the brief season 25, running from February to March 2022, and the two-part special South Park: The Streaming Wars in June and July. Therefore, when South Park season 26 aired from February to March 2023, viewers were expecting another two-part, feature-length special in summer 2023. However, the summer of 2023 came and went without any news from the show. While this may not seem ideal, it actually provides an opportunity for South Park to finally create its first holiday episodes in almost five years.

South Park Can Bring Back Halloween Episodes In 2023

Paramount+ can potentially revive one of South Park's beloved traditions by releasing a new Halloween episode alongside its upcoming special in October. While the specials for 2022 were already aired before the end of summer, the delayed special for season 23 presents an exciting opportunity for fans who enjoyed iconic Halloween-themed episodes such as "Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery" in season 3, episode 10, and "Hell on Earth 2006" in season 10, episode 11. South Park has always excelled in creating horror movie parodies and cleverly gruesome episodes centered around Halloween. This delayed premiere of the feature-length specials in 2023 is a perfect chance for the series to bring back this fan-favorite tradition.

South Park's Halloween episodes are particularly successful because the show already incorporates gruesome elements and its plots are not strongly tied to logic. Even in its regular episodes, the series includes horror elements. In fact, South Park's original premise involved aliens, Bigfoot, and various other paranormal phenomena. Additionally, the terrifying ManBearPig, which played a crucial role in South Park: The Streaming Wars, drew inspiration from monster movies of the '70s and '80s. It is evident that the series has a fondness for the horror genre, and Halloween specials provide the show with the freedom to explore these themes.

South Park’s Special Formula Could Revive Another Tradition

The second part of a potential two-part special in South Park might serve as the show's first Christmas episode in four years. While South Park has a reputation for its successful Halloween episodes featuring excessive violence and love for horror, its Christmas specials have gained popularity by satirizing the overly sentimental nature of the holiday season. By challenging the overly sweet portrayal of yuletide joy commonly seen on TV, South Park's previous Christmas episodes have been well-received. It is for these reasons that it would be fitting for the anticipated 2023 South Park specials to align with the festive season.