Season 19 Review: South Park

Why are some outlets realizing JUST now that South Park has a history of doing episodes that have a serial element? Does no one remember the Black Friday trilogy? Or how about the Emmy-winning Imagination Land saga? Also, spoiler alert, just because a TV show features a serial element, doesn’t necessarily mean that’s always awesome (see: BoJack Horseman Season One.)

Instead, recognize the fact that in the history of network and cable television there is no writing team more potent and more dangerous than Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Some may argue that The Simpsons have been doing it longer, but go ahead and count how many writers worked on the first five seasons of that show that are still around. Go ahead. I’ll wait here. As a matter of fact go check Family Guy as well. Matt Stone and Trey Parker have been doing this shit, by themselves, for 20 years. They are the Mick and Keith of adult animation. The Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin of joke writing. The spaghetti and meatballs of satire.

The fact that a lot of outlets are realizing NOW that South Park is a fantastic show goes to show the amount of bandwagon jumping that goes on in our industry. IGN.com is still butt hurt over the fact that the last three brilliant episodes of the show dealt with topics that THEY are guilty of. Brooklyn hippies probably cried in their Guinness blankets over South Park’s attacks on Whole Foods, douchey downtown neighborhoods, and their sense of political correctness entitlement. Big time Yelp reviewer? Yep…you got nabbed, too.

Hulu spent nearly 300 million dollars on South Park, probably screwing over any chance of the streaming service getting back into original content. And you know what? South Park is worth every fucking penny. Matt Stone and Trey Parker are still in this for their fans. Don’t believe me? Peruse over and check out the home releases these guys put out. The amount of time they invest in gaming is unheard of. Remember when there was a Family Guy game? You didn’t see Seth MacFarlane’s name in the writing credits did you? That’s why it sucked. South Park games? All day it’s Matt Stone and Trey Parker hence why a sequel is on the way.

So don’t be surprised that this show is still good. Don’t be shocked that South Park wrote a serial season because that isn’t new. Just remember who is still here to make sure they put the best product on television…Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of South Park.