context: The South Park series dates back to 1992, when Trey Parker and Matt Stone drew the short animated film The Christmas Spirit (Jesus vs. Frosty). The series premiered on August 13, 1997 ; at the moment (2018), the twenty-second season has aired. As of December 12, 2018, 297 episodes of South Park were released.
question: When did the first episode of the animated series "South Park" come out?
answers.text: August 13, 1997