South Park season 20 has been a long time coming, considering the show only airs for a few weeks a year now and only in the fall. We haven’t had any South Park since December and the wait has felt even longer because the last season was really good. South Park season 19 and the advent of PC Principal felt like both a return to form and a new push forward for the series. Can South Park season 20, premiering on September 14, keep up the momentum?
South Park Season 20 Premiere Date: Keeping Up With Continuity
South Park season 19 was different than any of the show’s other seasons because, for the first time, it introduced some real continuity to the series over the length of a whole season—not just a few episodes. The arc of the season involved political correctness, advertising, the evolution of digital media and a little side of populist politics with Mr. Garrison running for president as a sort of Trump figure.
South Park season 20 is presumably going to continue with season 19’s story arc involving Garrison and Principal Victoria angling for high office in the United States. Since the storyline is already developed, it’s the easiest way for the Matt and Trey to comment on the upcoming real-life election—something they’ve done extensively, especially since 2008.
We don’t know whether the new story arcs and continuity will continue through the whole season or be limited to just a few episodes, but season 19 was generally very well received and felt fresh and exciting. Matt and Trey were having fun with it and that sense of fun will hopefully drive them to give continuity another try. After all, the season still felt episodic; each episode felt like its own thing, with its own storyline. It’s South Park, not Game of Thrones (that was several seasons ago). The continuity model just gives Matt and Trey more flexibility to explore big ideas.
It’s going to be another short season—the old days of South Park being split across fall and spring are over for good—but we’ll at least have another treat to look forward to. South Park: The Fractured But Whole isn’t that far away now either, and looks amazing, just like The Stick of Truth. It’s weird that the show has entered into a kind of renaissance in the last few years, but there it is. South Park is great again, and season 20 premieres on September 14.
