Production for the episode started after the first run of the series' fourth season, which consisted of four episodes. At the beginning of the second run, of six episodes (which started broadcasting in June 2000), the episode was assigned a production code number of 405 (meaning the 5th episode of the 4th season), and it was planned to air in June or July that year. However, given the complicated nature of the episode's look, where many elements had to be designed from scratch, the studio did not have enough time to finish the episode that summer, and it was moved to the next batch of episodes. As it was already in production before the run, "Pip" was a "banked" episode of "South Park", one of the first in the series' history. Whereas most episodes of "South Park" are created within a week, from scratch, the creators sometimes try to have one episode "in the bank" – meaning that they have "at least half-start" animating it. This way they can take off a few days during the two-month-long, demanding run, and then go back and finish work on the banked show. After completing the previous episode, "Helen Keller! The Musical," which aired on November 22, 2000, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving (November 23), the creators went to spend time with their families for the holiday, and then came back on Sunday, November 26, to finish "Pip." The episode aired the next Wednesday, on November 29, 2000 on Comedy Central in the United States, as the 14th episode of the season, and the fourth episode of the winter run. Since its original airing, it has been re-run infrequently on Comedy Central.