South Park Watch Order (Release Order)Recommended
0 / 15 watchedSeason eras in air order with the film and streaming specials at release.
- 1 South Park Seasons 1-3 (1997-2000), 48 episodes Start here. Establishes Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny.
- 2 South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut Theatrical film. Released between seasons 3 and 4.
- 3 South Park Seasons 4-7 (2000-2003), 63 episodes
- 4 South Park Seasons 8-11 (2004-2007), 56 episodes
- 5 South Park Seasons 12-16 (2008-2012), 70 episodes
- 6 South Park Seasons 17-23 (2013-2019), 70 episodes Shorter ten episode seasons. Season 20 begins a serialized election arc.
- 7 South Park Seasons 24-26 (2020-2023) Only eight TV episodes across this stretch; the longer stories moved to Paramount+. Includes the two hour-long pandemic specials.
- 8 South Park: Post Covid First Paramount+ movie. Continues the Covid storyline from season 24.
- 9 South Park: Post Covid: The Return of Covid Second half of the Post Covid story.
- 10 South Park: The Streaming Wars Paramount+ movie about the town's water supply and streaming services.
- 11 South Park: The Streaming Wars Part 2 Conclusion of the Streaming Wars story.
- 12 South Park: Joining the Panderverse Paramount+ movie. Multiverse story with Kathleen Kennedy parody.
- 13 South Park: Not Suitable for Children Paramount+ movie about social media and explicit content filters.
- 14 South Park: The End of Obesity Paramount+ movie about weight loss drugs. Latest released special.
- 15 South Park Seasons 27-28 (2025-2026) Latest released run, made under the 2025 Paramount deal. Season 28 continues season 27's arc.
About South Park
South Park has aired on Comedy Central since August 1997, with 28 seasons plus a theatrical film and seven streaming specials. Early seasons ran 14 or more episodes; recent ones run fewer, longer stories. This list groups the TV seasons into eras and slots each film and special at release.
Release order works throughout. Callbacks reward long viewing, but continuity stays loose outside the season 20 election arc and the season 27 to 28 storyline. The Paramount+ specials assume you know the characters, so watch at least the early eras first.
Good to know
On July 21, 2025 Parker and Stone signed a five-year Paramount deal covering streaming rights and 10 new episodes per year. Season 27 aired July 23 to September 24, 2025; season 28 began that October and continues the same story arc. The episode "Sermon on the 'Mount" won the 2026 Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program. Season 24 totals vary by source because its two hour-long pandemic specials are sometimes counted as a season on their own.
