<P> South Park is an American animated television sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for Comedy Central that debuted on August 13, 1997 . The series originated from a pair of animated shorts titled The Spirit of Christmas, and the first episode of South Park originally aired on August 13, 1997 on Comedy Central . Intended for mature audiences, the show has become infamous for its crude language and dark, surreal humor that lampoons a wide range of topics . The story revolves around four boys--Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick--and their bizarre adventures in and around the eponymous Colorado town . </P> <P> Episodes of South Park have been nominated for a variety of different awards, including 3 Annie Awards (with one win), 2 Critics' Choice Television Award (with zero wins), 17 Emmy Awards (with five wins), 3 TCA Awards (with zero wins), and received a Peabody Award . Several compilation DVDs have been released . In addition, the first nineteen seasons have been released on DVD and Blu - ray, and are available for Regions 1, 2 and 4 as of 000000002016 - 09 - 01 - 0000 September 2016 . </P> <P> The show remains Comedy Central's highest rated program and second - longest - running, behind The Daily Show . Comedy Central has renewed South Park through 2019, bringing the show to 23 seasons . The twenty - first season, consisting of 10 episodes, premiered on September 13, 2017, and is scheduled to conclude on December 6, 2017 . As of October 18, 2017, 282 episodes of South Park have aired . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Season </Th> <Th_colspan="2"> Episodes </Th> <Th_colspan="2"> Originally aired </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> First aired </Th> <Th> Last aired </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 13 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> August 13, 1997 (1997 - 08 - 13) </Td> <Td> February 25, 1998 (1998 - 02 - 25) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 18 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> April 1, 1998 (1998 - 04 - 01) </Td> <Td> January 20, 1999 (1999 - 01 - 20) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 17 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> April 7, 1999 (1999 - 04 - 07) </Td> <Td> January 12, 2000 (2000 - 01 - 12) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 17 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> April 5, 2000 (2000 - 04 - 05) </Td> <Td> December 20, 2000 (2000 - 12 - 20) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 5 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 14 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> June 20, 2001 (2001 - 06 - 20) </Td> <Td> December 12, 2001 (2001 - 12 - 12) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 6 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 17 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> March 6, 2002 (2002 - 03 - 06) </Td> <Td> December 11, 2002 (2002 - 12 - 11) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 7 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 15 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> March 19, 2003 (2003 - 03 - 19) </Td> <Td> December 17, 2003 (2003 - 12 - 17) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 8 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 14 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> March 17, 2004 (2004 - 03 - 17) </Td> <Td> December 15, 2004 (2004 - 12 - 15) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 9 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 14 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> March 9, 2005 (2005 - 03 - 09) </Td> <Td> December 7, 2005 (2005 - 12 - 07) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 10 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 14 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> March 22, 2006 (2006 - 03 - 22) </Td> <Td> November 15, 2006 (2006 - 11 - 15) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 11 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 14 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> March 7, 2007 (2007 - 03 - 07) </Td> <Td> November 14, 2007 (2007 - 11 - 14) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 12 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 14 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> March 12, 2008 (2008 - 03 - 12) </Td> <Td> November 19, 2008 (2008 - 11 - 19) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 13 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 14 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> March 11, 2009 (2009 - 03 - 11) </Td> <Td> November 18, 2009 (2009 - 11 - 18) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 14 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 14 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> March 17, 2010 (2010 - 03 - 17) </Td> <Td> November 17, 2010 (2010 - 11 - 17) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 15 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 14 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> April 27, 2011 (2011 - 04 - 27) </Td> <Td> November 16, 2011 (2011 - 11 - 16) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 16 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 14 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> March 14, 2012 (2012 - 03 - 14) </Td> <Td> November 7, 2012 (2012 - 11 - 07) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 17 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 10 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 25, 2013 (2013 - 09 - 25) </Td> <Td> December 11, 2013 (2013 - 12 - 11) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 18 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 10 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 24, 2014 (2014 - 09 - 24) </Td> <Td> December 10, 2014 (2014 - 12 - 10) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 19 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 10 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 16, 2015 (2015 - 09 - 16) </Td> <Td> December 9, 2015 (2015 - 12 - 09) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 20 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 10 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 14, 2016 (2016 - 09 - 14) </Td> <Td> December 7, 2016 (2016 - 12 - 07) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 21 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 10 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> September 13, 2017 (2017 - 09 - 13) </Td> <Td> December 6, 2017 (2017 - 12 - 06) </Td> </Tr> </Table>

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