| Season Number: | 6 |
| Bgcolour: |
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| Network: | Comedy Central |
| Num Episodes: | 17 |
| Episode List: | List of South Park episodes |
The sixth season of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on March 6, 2002. The sixth season concluded after 17 episodes on December 11, 2002.[1]
The sixth season is the only season of South Park to not feature Kenny McCormick as a main character, due to him being killed off at the end of the previous season in "Kenny Dies." He was revived at the end of the season finale, "Red Sleigh Down", appearing in the last few seconds. This was his sole appearance in the season.
Kenny was written off in "Kenny Dies" at the end of season 5 of South Park, though he was mentioned throughout season 6. The other boys mourning Kenny's loss and trying to find a replacement was a reoccurring theme in the season.
For the first five episodes of season 6, Butters fills Kenny's position as the fourth member of "the boys." The rise of Butters as a main character in this season would lay the groundwork for the eventual use and development of Butters' character in future seasons of South Park.
The sixth episode of the season, "Professor Chaos", sees the boys dismissing Butters as Kenny's replacement and Tweek is chosen to fill the position, from episodes 7 to 11.
Initially, South Park was going to continue beyond season 6 with Kenny remaining deceased indefinitely. After several years of needing to devise a number of unique ways of repeatedly killing off the character each episode, Trey Parker and Matt Stone planned to make Kenny's absence permanent. Despite season 6 being well-liked among fans, a small group of viewers protested Kenny's permanent death and even threatened to boycott Comedy Central, the network airing South Park. In response to this backlash, Trey Parker and Matt Stone reversed the decision, acknowledging that South Park wouldn't be the same without Kenny. Consequently, season 6 is the sole season of the series where he was (mostly) absent.
However, Kenny was not entirely written out of the show following "Kenny Dies". He briefly cameoed in the episode "Free Hat" and appeared in flashbacks from "A Ladder to Heaven" to "The Biggest Douche in the Universe", where he appeared as a ghost possessing Cartman's body. Kenny ultimately returned in the final seconds of the finale, "Red Sleigh Down."
See also: List of South Park episodes.