A new season of South Park has indeed started (and the explanation why is so boring)

It's safe to say that South Park's return this year has perhaps been the show's most chaotic yet. The long-running adult animated comedy poked fun at the Trump administration and quickly drew criticism from said administration, but the Comedy Central staple has also had something of an unexpected run for season 27 and now season 28.

South Park season 27 premiered on July 25 and experienced a number of delays, after the season premiere was delayed itself. The five-episode 27th season never once aired two episodes in two consecutive weeks, always taking at least one week off in between airings of new episodes. But when the show returned from a three-week break on Oct. 15, fans noticed something unexpected.

Although season 27 was previously anticipated to consist of 10 episodes, which would have been the show's longest season since 2019, the episode that aired on Oct. 15 wasn't listed as South Park season 27 episode 6 but season 28 episode 1. That left not only fans but everyone wondering what was up. Was it a mishap? Were Parker and Stone rushing out of a contract? Well, no.

Yes, South Park season 28 has officially started airing

According to The Hollywood Reporter, which contacted a Paramount representative for the show, the order for South Park season 27 was misinterpreted. While most assumed that the 10-episode order that was reported in a press release, it was never specified that these 10 episodes would belong to the same season. Basically, we all just incorrectly assumed in the absence of information.

The Hollywood Reporter shared that the rep explained Parker and Stone's intention for season 27 and season 28 to each consist of five episodes from the very beginning. It's unclear why that wasn't communicated outright from the jump if that really was the plan, but now we're all on the same page at the surprise revelation that South Park season 28 has begun.

Again, it's confusing why two five-episode seasons are airing back-to-back as if they were one season. The choice calls into question exactly why Parker and Stone wanted to divide these two five-episode batches into distinct seasons rather than lumping them together into one 10-episode season. Is there really that much of a difference since they're airing as one?

For long-time South Park fans, the fact that seasons 27 and 28 are airing so closely together should be exciting. Two seasons of the show haven't ever aired in the same year. The series aired one season annually for the majority of its run before decreasing its episode count and having a much more unpredictable release pattern post-pandemic.

The official South Park social media page revealed, without specifying that the episodes were from different seasons, when new episodes will air on Comedy Central. Once again, season 28 will take breaks in between episode airings, and these airdates could likely be subject to change depending on Parker and Stone's progress on creating the episodes.

For now, new episodes of South Park season 28 will air on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central on the following dates: Oct. 29, Nov. 12, Nov. 26, and Dec. 10. As of right now, the season will come to an end in December. The series and its latest episodes is also available to stream on Paramount+ in case you miss the new drops on Comedy Central.