The seventeenth season of the animated television series South Park premiered on Comedy Central on September 25, 2013 and ended on December 11, 2013. The season consists of 10 episodes, as series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone decided to scale back and have one uninterrupted season, as opposed to two 7-episode runs, as had been the format since season 7. Aside from Parker, who wrote and directed all episodes, this season employed additional writers, one of whom is former Saturday Night Live cast member Bill Hader, who began working full-time on the show. Due to a power outage at the studio, episode 4 ("Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers") missed the deadline and aired a week later than scheduled.