SOUTH Park fans have been left baffled after discovering that certain episodes of the hit show on Paramount Plus had gone 'missing'.
The iconic adult American cartoon, created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker in 1997, is known for its controversy and tackling sensitive subjects with dark, crude humour.
Since it launched in the late nineties the award-winning show has shocked the world with its stories from the small fictional titular town based in Colorado.
Previously, South Park viewers were left devastated after a handful of so-called 'banned episodes' were taken off Paramount Plus' platform, and now it seems like another batch of episodes have suffered the same fate.
In total, season 23 of South Park has 10 episodes, which aired in 2019 between September and December, but based on Reddit users' comments, not all episodes are currently available.
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Taking to the social media platform, fans of the show opened a discussion about why a few episodes from season 23 of the popular animated show have disappeared from the streaming giant's platform.
The viewer complained: "I've noticed that quite a few more episodes have been removed from Paramount. Half of season 23 is missing, and a few more from various different seasons."
Replying to their own post, they asked: "What is the point of having South Park on there if they won't let you watch every episode?"
Another user reacted and theorised: "There's more to it than that. They've probably hit a snag with licensing issues and what not."
They added: "I'm sure the goal is to have everything in one place eventually, but it's obviously not possible right now."
To which the original owner of the post argued back: "There is quite a lot of episodes that's have been removed recently, and surely it's not to do with licensing.
Another agreed that "bureaucratic garbage" was likely to blame.
There is also the possibility that, due to licensing laws, some episodes of the season may be available to watch in some countries but not others.
Around this time last year, Paramount Plus and Warner Bros. Discovery locked horns in a massive disagreement after the former owners were accused of "illegally holding onto new episodes."
Five years ago HBO Max, now known as MAX, a parent company to Warner Bros, signed a licensing deal worth $500million (£418 million) for the streaming rights to the adult comedy animation series.
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However, a lawsuit filed last February claimed that Paramount had breached the contract it signed with Warner Bros. Discovery by putting South Park specials and other related content onto its own platform.
A judge most recently dismissed parts of the lawsuit in November 2023.
When contacted for comment Paramount confirmed that they are investigating the missing episiodes.
Watch South Park on Paramount Plus and SkyGO.
