South Park is a mature audience animated television series created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Distributed by and airing on Comedy Central since 1997, it follows the adventures of four grade-school boys who live in the small town of South Park, Colorado and depicted in seemingly crude-looking animation. South Park satirizes (sometimes surreally) many aspects of American culture and current events, and challenges deep-seated convictions and taboos, usually using parody and dark humor.
The show is credited for its characteristically blunt handling of current events. For example, an episode involving the repatriation of Romanian quintuplets, aired during the Elián González issue, depicted Janet Reno, then U.S. Attorney General, as a murderous Easter Bunny. An episode that aired after the September 11, 2001 attacks had the boys stow away on a military transport to Afghanistan, where they encounter Osama bin Laden. The episode “Best Friends Forever” satirized both the PSP and the Terri Schiavo case as well as the movies Constantine and The Last Starfighter. The episode was produced one week after the PSP was released and, coincidentally, was originally aired the night of March 30, 2005, less than twelve hours before Schiavo died. South Park won an Emmy Award for that episode.
The show’s seasons are usually aired in two parts, the first part in Spring and the second in Fall (in North America). These are often described by Matt and Trey as “runs”. This is partly done because the episodes are usually completed in less than a week, and very close to air time. South Park was renewed up to season fifteen, meaning that the show will run until at least the end of 2012, making it one of the longest running animated shows in American history. |
