Part of the pleasures of South Park, that long-running, endlessly irreverent animated Comedy Central series from Trey Parker and Matt Stone, was seeing how quickly it turned around topical issues into new, original content (heck, they didn't call that documentary 6 Days to Air for nothing). And now, in the midst of the show's 23rd (23rd!) year on the air, those Colorado muckrakers have done it again. An hour long special about perhaps the most topical issue of our time — the coronavirus — is coming soon, with the apt name, "The Pandemic Special".

The episode, much like our absurd, reckless real life, finds the kids heading back to school, and Randy (Parker) taking advantage of the pandemic in, yes, "a pandemic special." The brief, 30 second teaser, like many of the recent episodes, seems to be in dialogue with South Park itself as a relevant institution of satire. Do we need a South Park "pandemic special"? Do we need South Park anymore? Based on this teaser, it looks like it's gonna have its cake and eat it too, and it just might give you 60 minutes of relentless, irreverent, of-the-moment jokes in the meantime.

South Park's "The Pandemic Special" airs Wednesday, September 30 at 8:00 p.m on Comedy Central, followed by two encore airings at 9 and 10. 24 hours after the premiere, the episode will be available on HBO Max, South Park Studios, CC.com, and the Comedy Central App. Check out the trailer and official synopsis below. For more on South Park, here's our top ten episodes.

Randy comes to terms with his role in the COVID-19 outbreak as the on-going pandemic presents continued challenges to the citizens of South Park. The kids happily head back to school but nothing resembles the normal that they once knew; not their teachers, not their homeroom, not even Eric Cartman.