South Park is an American animated television sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for Comedy Central .[ 1] Parker and Stone developed the series from two animated shorts both titled The Spirit of Christmas (1992, 1995), and was originally developed for Fox . The series was later acquired by Comedy Central, which premiered South Park on August 13, 1997. Produced for an adult audience, South Park became infamous for its profanity and dark , surreal humor that satirizes a wide range of topics . The series revolves around four boys—Stan Marsh , Kyle Broflovski , Eric Cartman , and Kenny McCormick —and their adventures in and around the eponymous Colorado town.
South Park has received multiple accolades, including three Annie Award nominations (with one win),[ 2] [ 3] two Critics' Choice Television Award nominations (with no wins),[ 4] [ 5] 17 Emmy Award nominations (with five wins),[ 6] 3 TCA Awards nominations,[ 7] [ 8] and a Peabody Award .[ 9] The first twenty-six seasons and all special episodes have been released on DVD and Blu-ray , in addition to several compilation releases.[ 10] [ 11] [ 12] [ 13]
On August 5, 2021, Comedy Central announced that Parker and Stone signed a $900 million deal for extending the series to 30 seasons through 2027.[ 14] The deal also included a series of 14 films for Paramount+ , which are released twice per year.[ 15] Parker and Stone later denied that the projects were films, and clarified that it was ViacomCBS which decided to advertise them as such.[ 16] Paramount+ advertises the projects as "exclusive events", and they are generally accepted to be television specials .[ 17] [ 18]
As of May 24, 2024,[update] 328 episodes of South Park have aired, including seven specials, concluding the twenty-sixth season.
^ Tom Shales, "'South Park' Falls Flatulent", The Washington Post (August 13, 1997). LexisNexis (subscription required) . Retrieved April 30, 2009.
^ Staff (1998). "26th Annual Annie Nominations and Awards Recipients" . Annie Award . ASIFA-Hollywood . Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2014 .
^ Staff (2013). "40th Annual Annie Awards Winners" . Annie Award . ASIFA-Hollywood . Archived from the original on February 18, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2014 .
^ "Critics' Choice TV Awards 2014: And the nominees are..." Time. May 6, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2015 .
^ " 'Mad Max,' 'Fargo' Top Critics' Choice Nominations" . Variety. December 14, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015 .
^ "South Park" . Television Academy. Retrieved July 19, 2015 .
^ "TV critics honor Hanks and 'Earth to the Moon' " . Deseret News . July 23, 1998. Retrieved June 18, 2013 .
^ Hibberd, James (May 27, 2014). "TCA nominations: 'True Detective' starts awards season fight" . Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved May 27, 2014 .
^ "South Park" . The Peabody Awards . Retrieved January 28, 2023 .
^ Schedeen, Jesse (June 24, 2016). "Get Your First Look at the South Park: Season 19 Blu-ray Set" . IGN . Retrieved June 27, 2016 .
^ ASIN 6305176132
^ Song, Charles. News posts dated June 26 and 27, 2001. In: "Behind the Scenes: News Archive: June 2001" . South Park Studios. Archived from the original on July 23, 2001. Retrieved January 1, 2012 .
^ Carr, David (January 27, 2013). "Fortifying the Empire 'South Park' Built" . The New York Times . Retrieved January 28, 2013 .
^ "MTV Entertainment Studios inks new and expansive deal with creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone through 2027" . Comedy Central .
^ "MTV Entertainment Studios Inks New and Expansive Deal With Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone through 2027" . Comedy Central (Press release). August 5, 2021. Archived from the original on August 5, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021 .
^ Karl, Chris (October 29, 2021). "South Park Creators Clarify Paramount+ Projects Are Not Feature Films" . Screen Rant . Retrieved December 28, 2021 .
^ "South Park: Post Covid" (Press release). November 18, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2023 – via Paramount Press Express.
^ "South Park the Streaming Wars" (Press release). May 11, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2023 – via Paramount Press Express.