South Park didn't get an episode ready on time this week as the creators ran out of time

Apologising, showrunners Trey Parker and Matt Stone said in a statement: "Apparently when you do everything at the last minute sometimes you don't get it done.

"This one's on us. We didn't get it done in time. Thanks to Comedy Central and 'South Park' fans for being so understanding. Tune in next week!"

The setback comes after the show came under fire for mocking the late Charlie Kirk.

The controversial Conservative podcaster was fatally shot at a Utah college campus on September 10, at the age of 31.

On August 6, the episode entitled Got a Nut featured jokes at the expense of Kirk's political views, with a character who wins the Charlie Kirk Award for Young Master Debaters, saying: "You can't trust Jews, white people are the underprivileged and women belong at home."

The episode has been pulled from Comedy Central's reruns, but remains available to stream on Paramount+.

South Park is due to return to screens on September 24, before a two-week break.

It comes as ABC decided to take Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air indefinitely after the host suggested that Tyler Robinson, the man accused of assassinating Kirk, was aligned to the Make America Great Again movement.

He said during a monologue on the show: "The MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it."

He added: "In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving."

Nexstar Media, the largest local broadcast and digital media company in the US, confirmed it would "replace the show with other programming".

The company said in a statement: "Nexstar strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets."