South Park

US animated television series (1997– ) broadcast by the Comedy Central network. The irreverent, cynical comedy follows the misadventures of four foul-mouthed eight-year-olds in the working-class town of South Park, Colorado.

The voices for most of the characters belong to Trey Parker (1969– ) and Matt Stone (1971– ), who based the show on their short film The Spirit of Christmas (1995). Universal stereotypes are intermingled with bizarre goings-on; a character named Kenny, for example, dies in a different way in nearly every episode. The series ridicules political correctness, approaching sensitive issues, such as homosexuality, anti-Semitism, family values, sexual harassment, xenophobia, religion, and terrorism, with brazen and often controversial humour. Absurd themes, for example alien abductions, gay pets, and flatulence, are typical South Park fare.

The animation is computer-generated but resembles its original style of simple construction paper cut-outs. A successful feature film, South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, was released in 1999. After achieving immense popularity in the late 1990s, the series was broadcast internationally.