The beloved TV series South Park has been running for over 25 years, focusing on the lives of four friends and all the mischief they get into in the town of South Park. Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick are best friends, and their antics often find them in various misadventures throughout the town.
From the beginning, the show has always been known for its crude humor, dark gags, and sharp satire. It has become an iconic show and its popularity has only grown over the years, with its own movie released in 1999 and special episodes that feature exclusively on Paramount+. South Park has definitely stood the test of time, and its legacy continues to grow. So, with that said, let’s take a deep look into the latest exclusive entry in the series, South Park: Joining the Panderverse.
What is the Plot of South Park: Joining the Panderverse?
In 2022, South Park celebrated its 25th anniversary after first premiering on Comedy Central in 1997. A year prior to this, showrunners and creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone demonstrated no signs of slowing down anytime soon. In fact, they struck a $900 million deal to bring the series to its 30th season and release 14 feature films exclusively on the Paramount+ streaming service by 2027.
As part of this exclusive deal, Parker and Stone agreed to roll out two films a year. South Park: Joining the Panderverse is the fifth entry into this series, following on from South Park: The Streaming Wars Part 1 and 2, South Park: Post Covid, and South Park: Post Covid: The Return of Covid. In true South Park fashion, Joining the Panderverse will tackle current controversies in society. To that, it is believed to be centered on the rise of AI technology, and it’s safe to assume it will be explored in a crude and cringing way. In the special, Cartman has extremely unsettling dreams that foretell the demise of the life he has come to know and love. In addition, since the introduction of AI is upending their world, the adults in South Park also begin to struggle with their own life decisions.
When Will South Park: Joining the Panderverse Release?
After the official trailer dropped on October 11, 2023, Paramount+ confirmed that the exclusive event will stream on on Friday, Oct. 27 in the US and Canada. However, viewers in the UK and Australia will have to wait another day to watch the episode. As of yet, dates for further international markets are unknown.
What is the Future of South Park on Paramount+?
As we mentioned, South Park has a deal with Paramount+ that will end on the 30th season. This will place the series up there with the likes of The Simpsons and Family Guy as one of the longest running TV shows in history. Over its impressive run, South Park has become one of the most acclaimed animated series of all time, winning 5 Primetime Emmys. On top of this, it currently sits at number 76 on IMDB’s 250 top rated TV shows. So, it’s safe to assume that Parker and Stone want to stick around for a while longer, while the demand is still growing.
Unveiling the Previous Specials of South Park on Paramount+
If you’re feeling impatient for the new special of South Park, all four previous exclusives are available to stream on Paramount+. During the Covid-19 pandemic, animated shows like South Park had the upper hand as they could still operate on a safe level, unlike film sets. To that, South Park thrived and took the series into new territory. Since South Park‘s inception more than 20 years ago, these hour-long specials mark a significant format shift. Post Covid: The Return of Covid, the second of two specials, was made accessible a month after the first one, Post Covid, which debuted in November 2021. These two specials offered the TV world a refreshing take on the pandemic, making light out of dark times in typical South Park style.
In 2022, South Park: The Streaming Wars and South Park: The Streaming Wars Part 2 debuted a month apart from each other. In these episodes, Stan and Tolkien established a boat business to determine whether the streams in South Park are appropriate for serving the area’s population with water. The episodes carried on the show’s tradition of tackling contemporary topics by parodying the privatisation of public goods, climate change, and overworked content creators. While part 1 was a solid special, part 2 kicked things up a notch in the satire department, making fun of celebrities who have endorsed cryptocurrencies and NFTs in the recent years post-pandemic.
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